HISTORY OF VERMONT
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VERMONT
The Green Mountain State
BY
Walter Hill Crockett
author of
Vermont— Its Resources and Opportunities
History of Lake Champlain
George Franklin Edmunds
Volume Two
v.
I The Century History Company, Inc
New York
1921
THS NEW YORK
PUBLIC LIBRARY
569587A
ASTOR, LENOX AND
TILDSN FOUNOATiONS
R 1931 ^
Copyright 1921
BY The Century History Company
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Publication Ofhce
8 West 47th Street, New York
U. S. A.
To THE Memory of
George Grenville Benedict
AND
Horace Ward Bailey
Who encouraged and aided the author
in his study of Vermont history,
these volumes are dedicated.
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XVI
THE NAVAL BATTLE OP LAKE CHAMPLAIN
Mount Independence Fortified.
Conditions at Ticouderoga.
Benedict Arnold Given Cliarge of Naval Operations on Lake
Champlain.
Strength of the American Fleet.
British Attack near Valcour Island.
American Ships Damaged.
Arnold Escapes under Cover of Darkness.
Overtaken by British He Runs Ships Ashore and Burns Them.
Carleton Makes Demonstration Before Ticonderoga and Returns to
Canada.
Battle of Lake Champlain, First Naval Engagement of Revolution.
Importance of the Battle as Viewed by Historians.
CHAPTER XVn
BURGOYNE'S INVASION
Exposed Position of Northern Frontier.
Mutiny at Jericho.
Officers Court Martialed.
St. Clair Assigned to Command of Ticonderoga.
Inadequacy of Its Defence.
British Prepare to Invade Champlain Valley.
Fleet Makes Spectacular Entrance into Lake.
Burgoyne Gives War Feast to Indians and Issues Bombastic
Proclamation.
Colonel Warner Rallies Militia on the Grants.
British Occupy Chimney Point.
Mt. Defiance Seized and Fortified.
St. Clair Compelled to Abandon Ticonderoga.
Part of the American Troops Retreat to Skenesborough.
CHAPTER XVni
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON
Retreat of the American Forces from Ticonderoga to Castleton.
Warner Commands the Rear Guard.
General Eraser Leads British in Pursuit.
Is Joined by Reidesel and His German Dragoons.
Troops Ordered to Warner's Assistance Disobey Orders.
Colonel Francis Killed.
Warner's Troops Defeated and Dispersed after a Desperate Fight
at Hubbardton.
X HISTORY OF VERMONT
British Army Hastens Back to Skenesborough.
Burgoyne Issues a Proclamation and Sends Reldesel to Castleton.
Some Inhabitants Take the Oath of Allegiance.
Counter-Proclamation by Schuyler.
The Fall of Ticonderoga Creates Consternation on the New Hamp-
shire Grants and in America.
King George Rejoices.
St. Clair Tried by Court Martial and Acquitted.
CHAPTER XIX
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON
The Vermont Council of Safety Appeals to New Hampshire for
Assistance.
Colonel Warner Issues a Circular to Militia Officers.
Acceptance of Ira Allen's Plan to Raise Money for Equipment of
Troops by Sequestration of Estates of Tories.
Burgoyne's Increasing Difficulties.
New Hampshire Responds Promptly to Appeal for Aid and Sends
Force under General Stark.
Importance of Bennington as a Depot of Supplies.
British, Short of Provisions, Plan to Seize the Post and Make Raid
over Green Mountains.
General Lincoln Sent to Manchester.
He Goes to Schuyler's Aid.
Massachusetts Sends Help.
Lieutenant Colonel Baume with German Troops Sent Against
Bennington.
Opposition Being Greater Than He Had Expected He Sends for
Reinforcements and Fortifies His Position.
Attack by General Stark.
Green Mountain Boys and New Hampshire Troops Successfully
Assault Enemy's Position.
British Defeated and Baume Mortally Wounded.
Breymann Arrives with British Reinforcements.
Warner's Regiment Comes Just in Time to Meet Second Attack.
British Defeated and Pursued.
Incidents of the Battle.
The Casualties.
The Spoils of Victory.
Prisoners Sent to Massachusetts.
Far-reaching Eifects of the Victory.
Burgoyne's Estimate of the Battle.
Lincoln Attempts to Cut Burgoyne's Communications.
Capt. Ebenezer Allen Captures Mt. Defiance.
Colonel Brown Seizes British Shipping.
Gen. Jacob Bayley Stationed at Castleton.
Burgoyne's Surrender.
Dinah Mattis, a Slave, Given Her Freedom by Ebenezer Allen.
CONTENTS XI
CHAPTER XX
EARLY CONVENTIONS
First Dorset Convention.
Heman Allen Presents Petition to Congress.
That Body Recommends Temporary Submission to New York.
Second Dorset Convention.
Report of Mission to Philadelphia.
Proposal to Unite with New Hampshire Dismissed.
Convention Votes to Organize New Hampshire Grants into a Sepa-
rate District.
Ira Allen's Reasons for this Action.
Third Dorset Convention Subscribes to and Publishes a Covenant.
Committee of War Appointed.
Adjourned Session, Held at Westminster, Declares the New Hamp-
shire Grants an Independent State.
Name New Connecticut Adopted.
Declaration and Petition to Continental Congress Presented.
Windsor Convention Gives Name of Vermont to New Common-
wealth.
Constitution Considered and Promulgated.
Pennsylvania Constitution Closely Followed.
News of Burgoyne's Invasion Received.
Vermont's Constitution First to Prohibit Slavery and Grant Man-
hood Suffrage.
Document not Submitted to Popular Vote for Ratification.
CHAPTER XXI
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED
First Vermont Elections.
General Assembly Convened at Windsor.
Thomas Chittenden Elected Governor.
Machinery of State Government Put Into Operation.
Three Legislative Sessions Held During Year 1778.
Laws Enacted.
Sixteen New Hampshire Towns Annexed.
Ethan Allen Visits Philadelphia and Reports to Legislature Hos-
tility of Congress to Annexation of New Hampshire Towns and
Jurisdiction Withdrawn.
As a Result, Lieutenant Governor, Two Members of Council and
Twenty-four Representatives Withdraw from Vermont Legis-
lature.
Seceding Members Hold Convention and Favor a Union with New
Hampshire.
Massachusetts and New Hampshire Lay Claim to Vermont Terri-
tory.
Foes Within and Without Threaten New Commonwealth.
XII HISTORY OF VERMONT
CHAPTER XXII
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS
Activities of Board of War.
Building of Fort Ranger at Rutland.
Ethan Allen Released from Prison.
Story of His Captivity.
Confinement in Pendennis Castle, England, in Prison Ships at Hali-
fax and New York.
Washington's ElTorts in His Behalf.
Levi Allen Seeks His Brother's Release.
Exchanged for British Officer, He Visits Washington and Is Wel-
comed Home.
Forts Erected at Pittsford and In Upper Connecticut Valley.
Attack on Pierson Farm at Shelburne.
New Invasion of Canada Proposed.
Building of Bayley-Hazen Road Continued.
North Line of Castleton and Pittsford Made Frontier.
Indian and Tory Raids.
Carleton's Expedition of 1780.
Principal Vermont Officers.
British Blockhouse Erected at North Hero.
The Loyalists in Vermont.
CHAPTER XXIII
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE
Ethan Allen Sent to Quiet Uprising by New York Partisans in
Cumberland County.
Governor Clinton Threatens to Invade Vermont.
Congressional Committee Appointed to Visit New State.
Delegations of Vermont Leaders Sent to Philadelphia.
Resolutions of Congress Relating to Controversy with New York
not Acceptable.
Ethan Allen's Vindication of Vermont's Position and Argument by
Stephen R. Bradley Circulated in Other States.
Ira Allen Visits Several Commonwealths on a Missionary Tour for
Vermont.
Petitions Presented to Congress.
Statement by Governor Chittenden.
Vermont's Position Strengthened.
Congress Unwilling to Coerce New State.
New York Legislature Ready to Abandon Claim to Jurisdiction
Over Vermont but Governor Clinton Prevents Action by
Threatening to Prorogue that Body.
CONTENTS XIII
CHAPTER XXIV
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS
Appointment of General Haldimand as Governor General of
Canada.
Letters of Colonel Beverly Robinson to Ethan Allen Offering Ver-
mont a Separate Government Under the Crown.
Correspondence Sent to Congress with Notice of Vermont's Deter-
mination to Defend the Independence of the State.
Ira Allen Meets British Representatives at Isle Aux Noix to Confer
Regarding an Exchange of Prisoners.
Suspicion Regarding Negotiations.
Ira Allen's Skilful Explanation to General Assembly.
Fluctuating Opinion of British Authorities Concerning Vermont's
Intentions.
Ira Allen Manages Negotiations with Consummate Skill.
Enemies of Vermont and of Prominent Leaders Make Charges of
Disloyalty.
What the Haldimand Negotiations Accomplished.
Abundant Evidence Proves the Loyalty of the Vermont Leaders.
Attitude of Congress Toward Vermont More Friendly as a Result
of These Negotiations.
CHAPTER XXV
A DECADE OP DIPLOMACY
Attempt to Annex Vermont to New Hampshire.
Ira Allen's Remarkable Achievement in Averting a Dissolution of
the New State.
Vermont Annexes Portions of New Hampshire and New York.
Conflicts Arise from this Policy and Military Conflict with New
York Narrowly Averted.
Serious Complications with New Hampshire.
Eastern and Western Unions Abandoned.
Congress Proposes to Admit Vermont to the Union and then Fails
to Live Up to Its Implied Promise.
New York Pursues a More Conciliatory Policy.
Washington Alarmed Over Possible Attempt to Coerce Vermont.
After the Close of the War Vermont Grows Stronger as the Ameri-
can Confederation Grows Weaker.
CHAPTER XXVI
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC
How the Business of the State Was. Conducted.
The Coining of Money Authorized.
A Postal Service Established.
Trade Agreements with Canada.
Granting of Vermont Townships.
XIV HISTORY OF VERMONT
A Period of Rapid Growth.
The "Betterment" Bills.
First Council of Censors.
A General Condition of Unrest.
Objections to Cost of Justice.
Uprisings Against the Courts at Windsor and Rutland.
Financial Distress of the People.
Shays' Rebellion.
Ira Allen Vindicated of Charges of Dishonesty as Surveyor General.
Defeat of Governor Chittenden.
Deaths of Seth Warner and Ethan Allen.
CHAPTER XXVII
VERMONT ADMITTED TO THE UNION
New York Opens Negotiations with Vermont and Commissioners
are Appointed.
Activity of Alexander Hamilton In Favor of Ending the Dispute.
Nathaniel Chipman Enters Into Correspondence with Hamilton and
Later Visits Him.
The First Conference of the Two Commissions Unsuccessful.
New York Confers Broader Powers upon a Second Commission and
Another Conference Held at which an Agreement is Reached.
Vermont Agrees to Pay Thirty Thousand Dollars for a Relinquish-
ment of New York Land Claims.
Congress Votes to Admit Vermont as a State of the Union.
Convention Called to Ratify United States Constitution.
Debate Over Ratification.
Arguments of Nathaniel Chipman and Stephen R. Bradley for
Statehood.
Celebration of Vermont's Admission to the Union.
Congressmen and Senators Elected.
First Government Officials Appointed.
The First Census.
Jefferson and Madison Visit Vermont.
CHAPTER XXVIII
"OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION"
Review of the Struggle of a Quarter of a Century.
The Audacity, the Courage, the Persistence and the Resourceful-
ness of the Green Mountain Boys.
Summary of a Successful Struggle for Freedom Against Great Odds.
A Marvelous and Romantic Story of Heroic Men.
CHAPTER XXIX
VERMONT'S RAPID GROWTH
Large Increase of Population During First Two Decades of the
State's History.
Industrial and Agricultural Conditions.
Friction on the Northern Border.
CONTENTS XV
Political Discussion Relating to France.
Addresses to Presidents Washington, Adams and Jefferson.
Death of Governor Chittenden.
The Career of Matthew Lyon.
Services of Senator Stephen R. Bradley.
Vermont's Attitude Toward State Rights.
Governor Tichenor's Popularity.
State Capital Established at Montpelier.
The First State Bank.
Ira Allen's Visit to Europe.
Imprisoned in France.
Returns to America a Ruined Man.
His Exile in Philadelphia and His Death.
ILLUSTRATIONS
Thomas Chittenden Frontispiece
Constitution House, Windsor Facing page 60
The Bennington Battlefield " " 90
Plan of the Battle of Bennington " " 120
Bennington Battle Monument " " 150
Route of Bayley-Hazen Military Road " " 180
House Occupied by Ethan Allen at Bennington " " 210
Home of Thomas Chittenden, Arlington " " 240
Governor George Clinton of New York " " 270
Facsimile of Act Admitting Vermont as a State of the
Union " " 300
Facsimile of Vermont's Ratification of the United States
Constitution " " 330
Windham County Court House, Newfane " " 360
Early Vermont Currency " " 390
Early Vermont Coins " " 420
Mount Ascutney and Village of Windsor " " 450
Map Prepared by James Whitelaw, Surveyor General of
Vermont " " 480
Interior of Old Meeting House, Rockingham " " 510
Monument and Statue Over Grave of Ethan Allen at
Burlington " " 540
Rock Point, Burlington " " 570
The First State House at Montpelier " " 600
CHAPTliR XVI
THE NAVAL BATTLE OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN
EARLY in June, when General Schuyler saw the
probability that the Northern army must aban-
don Canada in the near future, he began to make
plans for strengthening the positions held on Lake
Champlain. He hoped soon to send an engineer to re-
pair Ticonderoga, if it was considered desirable to keep
that position, but expressed the opinion that a post on
the ground opposite the old fortress "would more
effectually secure us against the enemy." Schuyler's
views on the subject were made known to General
Washington, who wrote him on July 13 that
Messrs. Chase and Carroll, the commissioners who
were sent to Canada by Congress, as associates of Ben-
jamin Franklin, were of the same opinion that the east-
ern side of the lake was the more advantageous post to
occupy. Admitting that necessary works of defence
should be thrown up with the utmost dispatch in the
place most easily defended, Washington wished to know
if it would not be desirable to fortify both Ticonderoga
and the point opposite. Schuyler replied: "If a fort-
ress was erected on the east side of Lake Champlain,
nearly opposite Ticonderoga, it would equally command
both communications, with this advantage, that the
militia of the northern colonies are more at hand for
immediate succor, may all march by land to the post,
and attempt to raise a siege."
Early in July Generals Schuyler and Gates, having
occasion to go to Crown Point, took Colonel Trumbull
across the lake to inspect the site of the proposed forti-
fications, and the latter made such a favorable report
that at a council of general officers held on July 7, "it
HISTORY OF VERMONT
was unanimously resolved to take post there." Colonel
Trumbull in describing this location, said: ''At the
northern point it runs low into the lake, offering a good
landing place; from thence the land rose to an almost
level plateau elevated from fifty to seventy-five feet
above the lake, and surrounded on three sides, by a
natural wall of rock, everywhere steep, and sometimes
an absolute precipice sinking to the lake. On the fourth
and eastern side of the position ran a morass and deep
creek at the front of the rock, which strengthened that
front, leaving room only by an easy descent, for a road
to the east, and to the landing from the southern end of
the lake. We found plentiful springs of good water,
at the foot of the rock. The whole was covered with
primeval forest."
Writing to General Washington on this subject, Gen-
eral Schuyler said: "On the 9th we went over the
ground for the intended post on the east side, which
we found so remarkably strong as to require little labor
to make it tenable against a vast superiority of force,
and fully to answer the purpose of preventing the enemy
from penetrating into the country to the south of it."
General orders issued at Ticonderoga on July 13
directed Captain Stevens of the artillery to encamp with
his company "near the landing on the east side of the
lake, where all the artillery, stores, etc. are to be landed."
The Pennsylvania regiments were directed to encamp
"upon the new ground" July 16, where Colonel St. Clair
and Colonel Wayne were to lay out the encampment.
Orders were issued on July 22 to the three brigades com-
manded by General Arnold, Colonel Reed and Colonel
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 5
Stark to encamp as soon as possible upon the ground
allotted them upon the heights. General orders issued
at Ticonderoga on July 30, showed that three of the
four brigades at that place were stationed at Mount
Independence, on the east side of the lake, in the present
town of Orwell, Vt. As a result of the clearing of the
forest and the exposing of the soil to the hot summer
sun, a fever became prevalent, said to resemble the yel-
low fever, which sometimes proved fatal in two or three
days.
Schuyler was so well pleased with the strength of
Mount Independence, that in writing to Washington
July 24, 1776, he said: "Can they (the enemy) drive
us out of the strong camp on the east side ? I think not.
I think it impossible for twenty thousand men to do
it, ever so well provided, if the camp consists of less
than even a quarter of that number, indifferently fur-
nished, such is the natural strength of the ground."
In accordance with a resolution of the Continental
Congress, a general hospital was erected on Mount Inde-
pendence. The summit of that mountain is a table-land
and here at a later date, a strong, star-shaped fort was
erected, surrounded by pickets. In the center was a
square of barracks.
By direction of General Gates, a road was cut from
the west side of Mount Independence to join the road
at Castleton, and a good bridge was constructed across
the Otter Creek at Rutland. This work was performed
under the direction of Lieut. Col. John Barrett of the
Cumberland county militia.
6 HISTORY OF VERMONT
The occasion of the naming of Mount Independence
bears a direct relation to the birth of the American
nation. The Boston Gazette of August 29, 1776,
printed an extract from a letter which said: "We hear
from Ticonderoga that on the 28th of July, immediately-
after divine worship, the Declaration of Independence
was read by Colonel St. Clair, and having said 'God save
the free independent States of America !' the army mani-
fested their joy with three cheers. It was remarkably
pleasing to see the spirits of the soldiers so raised after
all their calamities, the language of every man's coun-
tenance was, Now we are a people ! we have name among
the states of this world." Probably this date should be
July 18, when a courier arrived with news of the adop-
tion of the Declaration of Independence. A salute of
thirteen guns was fired and the neighboring eminence
was christened Mount Independence.
During the summer and fall of 1776, the greater part
of the army at Ticonderoga was engaged in throwing up
intrenchments, mounting guns, and securing provisions.
General Gates had been in command of this post upon
the return of the army from Canada, and General Sulli-
van, who had conducted the retreat from the north in a
manner that displayed great skill and bravery, being dis-
pleased at the honor accorded Gates, at his expense, left
in disgust for New York and Philadelphia.
Early in September the barracks and parade ground
were finished. The intrenching tools were so few that
it was necessary to divide the men into shifts that the
tools might not be idle at any time. The works were
completed in November, 1776, under the direction of
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 7
Colonel, later General, Wayne. Among the troops were
men from New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New
Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the New
Hampshire Grants. The Massachusetts troops came by
way of Springfield (Vt.), Rutland, Castleton, and
Skenesborough.
A letter written from Mount Independence by Col.
Samuel VVigglesworth, to the New Hampshire Commit-
tee of Safety, as late as September 27, 1776, shows that
conditions were still deplorable. In his letter he says:
"Gentlemen, I wish you could transport yourselves to
this place for a moment to see the distressed situation
of these troops. * * * There are no medicines of
any avail in the Continental chest; such as there are in
their native state unprepared ; no emetick nor cathartick ;
no mercurial nor antimonial Remedy ; no opiate or elixir,
tincture, nor even any capital medicine. It would make
a heart of stone melt to hear the moans and see the dis-
tresses of the dying. * * * Now, Sirs, think how
much more unhappy and distressed the conditions of
these troops would be should the enemy attack our
Lines."
Rum containing four pounds of gentian root and
two pounds of orange peel to a hogshead was served to
the men, and when these ingredients were not available
the physicians suggested as a substitute snakeroot, dog-
wood and centaury.
In time, however, conditions improved. The small-
pox gradually was conquered, and, although there was
some fever and ague, the health and spirits of the men
showed a great change for the better. Fresh beef and
8 HISTORY OF VERMONT
mutton added a pleasant variety to a salt pork diet and
the distress caused by lack of tents was alleviated, in a
measure at least, by the arrival of one hundred thousand
feet of boards for purposes of shelter.
It is certain that the soldiers of this army deserved
relief from conditions that often were almost intoler-
able. The sufferings of the army in Canada, and for
several months after their return to Crown Point and
Ticonderoga, deserve to rank with the privations en-
dured by Washington's troops at Valley Forge.
The necessity of constructing a fleet if the mastery
of the lake were to remain in the hands of the Ameri-
cans was apparent to all. General Gates selected Gen.
Benedict Arnold to have charge of naval operations, and
wrote Washington as follows concerning the choice:
"As soon as all the vessels and gondolas are equipped.
General Arnold has offered to go to Crown Point and
take command of them. This is exceedingly pleasing to
me; as he has a perfect knowledge of maritime affairs,
and is, besides, a most deserving and gallant officer."
General Schuyler, on May 7, 1776, had ordered
Jacobus Wynkoop, a captain in the Continental service,
to proceed immediately to Ticonderoga and take com-
mand of "all the vessels on Lake Champlain" — not an
imposing flotilla, by any means — and with the greatest
expedition to put them in the best condition possible for
immediate service. There is no evidence that any task
li importance was performed by Captain Wynkoop, but
he did mention in a memorial to Congress, that he ex-
pected the appointment of "Commodore of the Lakes."
When Gates appointed Arnold to command the ships on
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 9
the lake there was trouble at once. Wynkoop refused
to take orders from Arnold, and maintained that he had
received no notice of the appointment of a successor.
After some sharp correspondence General Gates issued
an order on August 18, directing that Wynkoop should
be arrested and taken to headquarters at Ticonderoga
as a prisoner. Gates sent him on to Albany, where he
contented hnnself in writing to Congress concerning his
troubles.
Governor Trumbull of Connecticut, on July 29, had
this to say of the American strength on Lake Cham-
plain: "How they maintain their naval supremacy, I
must confess myself much at a loss. They build a gon-
dola, perhaps one in a week; but where are they to find
rigging for them — where the guns? To be sure they
have a great train of artillery, but very few of them
mounted on carriages; at present their materials and
conveniences for making them are very slender. They
have neither places fit for them to work in, nor materials
in that plenty that they ought to have. To oppose the
enemy on the lake they have a schooner of 12 carriage
guns, a sloop of 8 guns, two small schooners to carry
4 to 6 each, and three gondolas, and the large schooner
is now in good sailing order and about to take a trip
down the lake to make discovery. The sloop is a most
unmanageable thing, it is impossible to beat up against
a wind in her. The two small schooners are not armed
— and even the carriages of their guns are yet to be
made."
Arnold brought to the task of preparing the best pos-
sible fighting squadron the same energetic qualities that
10 HISTORY OF VERMONT
he had displayed in the Quebec campaign. The New
England seaports were called upon to furnish ship car-
penters and naval stores. It was necessary to fell the
trees in the woods and drag the timber to the ship yards
at Skenesborough. Most of the stores and ammuni-
tion for the fleet were conveyed overland, by roads that
were nearly impassable. The vessels, when built, were
brought to Ticonderoga and Crown Point to be equipped
with sails, armament, and stores.
General Gates wrote to John Hancock on August 6:
"In a week our fleet will, I am told, be in a condition to
make sail down the lake. General Arnold proposes to
post them so as to command some narrow pass, opening
into a broad part of the lake, either near the Split Rock,
or Isle-aux-Motte."
At this time the fleet was made up as follows:
Schooner Royal Savage, Captain Wynkoop, twelve guns,
fifty men; sloop Enterprise, Captain Dickson, twelve
guns, fifty men; schooner Revenge, Captain Seaman,
eight guns, thirty-five men; schooner Liberty, Captain
Primmer, eight guns, thirty-five men; gondola Nezv
Haven, Captain Mansfield, three guns, forty-five men;
gondola Providence, Captain Simmons, three guns,
forty-five men; gondola Boston, Captain Sumner, three
guns, forty-five men; gondola Spitfire, Captain Ulmer,
three guns, forty-five men.
Two weeks later there had been added to the armed
vessels under American control on Lake Champlain, the
gondola Philadelphia, Captain Rue, three guns, forty-five
men; the gondola Connecticut, Captain Grant, three
guns, forty-five men; the gondola Jersey, Captain
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 11
Grimes, three guns, forty-five men ; the galley Lee, Cap-
tain Davis, six guns, fifty men. At this time General
Arnold had assumed command of the Royal Savage.
In writing to Governor Trumbull of the naval strength
on Lake Champlain, General Gates said, under date of
August 11 : "This is a naval force, when collected, that
promises to secure the command of Lake Champlain."
The British were as active at St. Johns as their
opponents were at the southern end of the lake. Dur-
ing the summer of 1776, ship carpenters had been busy
under the direction of Capt. Charles Douglas, in con-
structing a fleet with which it was expected the mastery
of this important waterway might be regained. The
planking and frames of two schooners were taken apart
at Chambly and transported by land around the rapids
of the Richelieu, to St. Johns, where they were recon-
structed. Douglas found under construction at Quebec
the hull of a ship of one hundred and eighty tons. He
took this apart nearly to the keel and shipped it to St.
Johns on thirty long boats, which, with a gondola of
thirty-two tons, several flat-bottomed boats and four
hundred bateaux were drawn up the rapids.
Arnold left Crown Point on August 24 with his
hastily constructed war craft, anchoring at Willsboro
the night of the twenty-fifth. That night a violent
northeast storm arose, and the next afternoon the Amer-
ican commander was compelled to weigh anchor and
return to Button Mould Bay, on the Ferrisburg shore,
where the whole fleet arrived the same evening, with the
exception of the Spitfire, which rode out the storm ofif
the Willsboro shore. Arnold left Button Mould Bay
12 HISTORY OF VERMONT
at noon on September 1, reaching Willsboro the same
night. He anchored at Schuyler Island the night of
September 2, and arrived at Windmill Point, near the
northern end of the lake, on September 3. It was found
that the British occupied Isle-aux-Tetes, four or five
miles beyond Windmill Point, and several hundred of
the enemy, who were encamped in that vicinity, made a
precipitate retreat the same evening that the American
fleet arrived. Attempts were made to decoy some of
Arnold's ships beyond the point of safety, but without
success. Scouting parties were sent out on both sides
of the lake on September 5 and 6, respectively, to gain
intelligence.
The guard boats were posted about a mile below the
anchorage at Windmill Point. A boat containing
eighteen men, and commanded by a Sergeant, was sent
ashore on September 6 to cut fascines to fix on the bows
and sides of the gondolas, in order to prevent the enemy
from boarding. The men placed their guns against a
rock, two men being posted as sentries, and proceeded
with their task. Before they had fairly begun work
an Indian was seen within half a stone's throw, who
hailed the Sergeant. Being asked to give an account of
himself the Indian replied that he was a Caughnawaga.
Suspecting trouble, the men ran for their boat and
pushed off as quickly as possible, a band of savages fol-
lowing so closely that the Americans narrowly escaped
being tomahawked. The boat was armed with a small
cannon, loaded with shot, and this the Sergeant at-
tempted to discharge, but the Indians fired, cutting the
lighted match out of his hand. The men on board fired
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 13
in return and rowed back to the ships in great haste.
The guns of the fleet were fired into the woods and the
Indians fled. In this skirmish the American casuaUies
were three men killed and six wounded.
The firing was heard at Crown Point, and Gates was
notified. Supposing that a battle with the British fleet
was in progress, Gates, in turn, notified Schuyler, at
Albany, who ordered out a considerable number of the
militia. This order was revoked as soon as the nature
of the affair was learned. On the morning of the skir-
mish Arnold was reinforced by the arrival of the galley
Lee, carrying six guns, and the gondola Connecticut,
with three guns.
The British began the erection of batteries on either
side of Arnold's position on the night of September 7,
causing him to retire farther south. As the schooner
Liberty was proceeding to her anchorage she was hailed
from the shore by a Canadian, who asked to be taken
on board. The Captain sent a boat toward the shore
with orders to be ready to fire at any indication of
treachery. The Canadian waded out about a rod but
refused to go farther. As the boat's crew declined to
go so near the land the man made a signal, when a party
of three hundred Canadians and Indians, concealed on
the shore fired, wounding three of the crew. The fire
was returned and the schooner discharged several broad-
sides of grape.
Arnold anchored his fleet off Isle La Motte on Sep-
tember 8. From that station he wrote to Gates on
September 18, saying: "I intend first fair wind to come
up as high as Isle Valcour, where is a good harbour, and
14 HISTORY OF VERMONT
where we shall have the advantage of attacking the
enemy in the open lake where the row galleys, as their
motion is quick, will give us a great advantage over the
enemy; and if they are too many for us we can retire.
* * * I beg that at least one hundred good seamen
may be sent as soon as possible. We have a wretched,
motley crew in the fleet; the marines the refuse of every
regiment, and the seamen few of them ever wet with salt
water. We are upwards of one hundred men short your
complement."
Having sounded the channel between Valcour Island
and the New York shore, and found the anchorage to
be a good one, the American fleet took position there on
September 23. A few days later Arnold was reinforced
by the arrival of the galley Trumbull, Captain Warner
commanding. General Waterbury, who had been ap-
pointed second in command, arrived with the galleys,
Washington, Captain Thacher, and Congress, Captain
Arnold, on October 6. The Liberty had been sent to
Crown Point for supplies and an eight-gun galley was
receiving her armament at Ticonderoga. With these
exceptions, the entire American fleet was assembled at
Valcour. The crew consisted of about five hundred
men, mostly soldiers from the army. Arnold had hoped
for New England seamen with which to man his ships,
but they were not provided.
Sir Guy Carleton left St. Johns on October 4 with a
fleet consisting of the Inflexible, an eighteen-gun ship
reconstructed in twenty-eight days, Lieutenant Schwenk
commanding; the schooner Maria, Lieutenant Stark,
fourteen guns; the schooner Carleton, Lieutenant
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 15
Dacres, twelve guns; the flat-bottomed rideau, TJiun-
derer, Lieutenant Scott, fourteen guns ; and the gondola
Loyal Consort, Lieutenant Longcroft, seven guns. In
addition there were twenty gunboats, each carrying a
brass field piece, while four long boats, each armed with
a carriage gun, served as tenders. Twenty-four long
boats carried provisions. Capt. A. T. Mahan, the naval
historian, says the British had forty-two available guns,
while Arnold had a total of thirty-two cannon, of smaller
calibre than the ordnance of the enemy.
The British ships were manned by six hundred and
seventy seamen from the St. Lawrence fleet, in addition
to a number of soldiers and artillerymen, while a party
of Indians, in canoes, accompanied them. To Capt.
Thomas Pr ingle was given the command. Although
Sir Guy Carleton accompanied the expedition, he did
not attempt to direct naval operations. In numbers,
both of ships and men, as well as in armament and equip-
ment, the British fleet was much superior to the Ameri-
can squadron. Sir George Otto Trevelyan, English
historian and statesman, says that ''compared with
Carleton's vessels, the American sloops and galleys were
mere cock-boats."
At Point au Fer, Pringle had stopped and a block-
house had been erected, four companies being left to gar-
rison and defend it. On the night of October 10, the
fleet anchored between Grand Isle and North Hero.
The next morning the ships continued along the Grand
Isle shore, having heard that the Americans were in that
vicinity. No scout boats had been sent out, and Valcour
16 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Island being high, Arnold's position was not discovered
until the island had been passed.
General Waterbury desired to go out and meet the
enemy, but Arnold preferred to hold the position he
had taken. It was eight o'clock on Friday morning,
October 11, when the British ships were sighted, but
some time was consumed in tacking from the leeward,
or rowing up to the channel where the little American
fleet was stationed.
The woods on Valcour Island and on the mainland
were filled with Indians, who kept up a constant rifle
fire, but their aim was so bad that little harm was done.
To protect the decks from this fire Arnold had erected
rude barricades of fagots.
Captain Pringle experienced no little difficulty in
bringing his ships into action, so that it was eleven
o'clock before the British commander was able to open
fire with his gunboats upon the Royal Savage, which,
with the galleys, had advanced a little distance in front
of the battle line formed by the rest of the squadron.
The schooner Carleton was the first of the enemy's ships
to come to the aid of the smaller craft. She was
anchored with a spring on her cable. The American
fire was centered on this ship. Her commander was
knocked senseless, another officer lost an arm, and the
command devolved upon Edward Pellew, afterwards
Lord Exmouth, then a boy nineteen years old, and here
he won his first laurels as a naval officer. The Carle-
ton's spring was shot away and she swung around, bow
on, her fire being silenced. Pellew exposed himself reck-
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 17
lessly and in a place of great peril succeeded in extricat-
ing his ship.
By poor management, early in the action, the crew of
landsmen permitted the Royal Savage, Arnold's flagship,
to fall to the leeward, where she sustained a heavy fire,
her masts being damaged and her rigging shot away.
Soon she was run aground on the point of Valcour
Island, all on board escaping safely. That night she
was boarded by the enemy and set on fire. All of
Arnold's papers and most of his personal effects were
lost. The Royal Savage was the only vessel in Arnold's
fleet really in a class with the British ships. The Amer-
ican commander transferred his flag to the Congress
which has been described as ''nothing more than a row-
ing galley with mast and sails."
At twelve thirty o'clock the engagement became gen-
eral and continued at close range until five o'clock, round
and grape shot being used tn a very hot fire. The British
ships, with the exception of the Inflexible, which did not
get into action until late in the afternoon, and all of their
gondolas, fought within musket range of the American
craft. At five o'clock they withdrew to a distance of six
hundred or seven hundred yards and continued firing
until darkness put an end to the engagement. The
Washington of Arnold's fleet, received several cannon
balls through her hull, her mainmast was shot through
and her sails were riddled. General Waterbury was the
only active officer left on board at the close of the action,
the First Lieutenant having been killed and the Captain
and Master wounded. The Congress was hulled twelve
times, she received seven shots ''between wind and
18- HISTORY OF VERMONT
water," her mainmast was damaged in two places, and
her yard in one, and the rigging was shot to pieces.
With his own hands Arnold pointed most of the guns on
the flagship, and in the thick of the fight found time,
by word and deed, to encourage the men on board. All
the officers on the gondola Nczv York were killed except
Captain Lee. The Philadelphia was hulled in so many
places that she sank about an hour after the battle
closed. The American losses in killed and wounded
amounted to sixty. Arnold had reason to congratulate
himself that his fleet was not utterly annihilated.
The British fleet was considerably damaged. Eight
men were killed, and six were wounded on the Carleton.
Two gunboats were sunk and one was blown up with a
considerable number of men, the loss being estimated
as low as twenty and as high as sixty men, although the
smaller number, probably, is much nearer the truth than
the larger. A British artillery boat commanded by a
German Lieutenant was sunk.
As evening came on the British ships withdrew a
little distance, in order to secure advantageous positions
for the morrow, and anchored just beyond the range of
Arnold's guns. The Thunderer held the right of the
line near Garden Island, while the Maria held the left
near the New York shore. Between were the Loyal
Consort and the formidable ship Inflexible. The Carle-
ton and the gunboats occupied positions between the
other ships.
At the close of the battle Arnold called a council of
war. His fleet was seriously crippled, most of his offi-
cers were killed or disabled, and three-fourths of his
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 19
ammunition had been spent. To continue the fight an-
other day meant annihilation or surrender. Arnold,
therefore, determined to risk the attempt of a retreat,
although the chances were heavily against success. The
channel close to the west shore, however, had not been
carefully guarded.
The darkness had fallen early on that October night,
and with it came a mist that aided the American plans
for retreat. At seven o'clock Colonel Wigglesworth,
with the Trumbull, led the way, with no lights visible
save a stern lantern, so masked that it could be seen only
by the ship immediately in her wake. The Enterprise,
the Lee, and the gondolas followed. At ten o'clock Gen-
eral Waterbury, with the Washington, and General
Arnold, with the Congress, brought up the rear.
Silently and successfully the crippled American fleet
slipped out of the net drawn around it by the enemy; and
on Saturday morning, to his surprise, the British com-
mander found no ships to fight or capture. In a report
to the President of Congress General Waterbury said
of this escape that it "was done with so much secrecy
that we went through them entirely undiscovered." Sir
Guy Carleton was in a rage, and the pursuit was begun
in haste.
Arnold had proceeded nine miles up the lake, as far
as Schuyler Island, not far from the present location of
Port Kent. Here he was compelled to repair his shat-
tered fleet; otherwise, as a result of his brilliant
manoeuvre, he might have reached Crown Point in
safety. Two gondolas or armed barges were so badly
damaged that it was necessary to sink them.
20 HISTORY OF VERMONT
The British ships did not discover Arnold's position
on the morning of October 12, and returned to Valcour
Island, remaining there until night, when scouts re-
ported that the American fleet had been sighted. Hav-
ing stopped the worst leaks and made other necessary
repairs, under adverse conditions, Arnold set sail for
Crown Point at two o'clock on Saturday afternoon,
October 12. A south wind was blowing and Arnold's
ships when at their best never made good progress in
beating against the wind. Although the oars were used,
the crew, wounded and weary, made slow progress.
Tradition says that on the morning of October 13, in
the mist of the early dawn, an object was sighted near
Providence Island which was supposed to be one of
Arnold's ships and one or more of the British vessels
opened fire. It proved, however, to be a large rock, and
thereafter, in derision, it was called Carleton's Prize.
The fog lifted on Sunday morning and about noon
Arnold's fleet was overtaken a little to the south of the
point where the Boquet River empties into the lake, and
not far from Split Rock.
The Washington, badly damaged in the first battle,
was limping along in the rear and was the first of the
American vessels to be overtaken by the Maria and the
Inflexible. After a few broadsides she was compelled to
strike her colors. Then for two hours and a half a run-
ning fight was waged, round and grape shot being
hurled into Arnold's flagship, the Congress. A spirited
defence was made by the Americans as they endeavored
to reach the protection of the guns at Crown Point.
The Inflexible and two schooners paid special attention
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 21
to the Congress, two under her stern and one on her
broadside. The sails and rigging were torn to pieces
and the hull was shattered. That she remained afloat,
and able to fight for several hours against such terrible
odds is one of the wonders of American naval history.
A First Lieutenant and three men on the Congress were
killed. Fighting desperately, with splendid skill and
courage, Arnold almost reached his desired haven, but
when ten miles north of Crown Point he saw that fur-
ther resistance was impossible with his riddled, sinking
ships. Determined that he would not surrender he ran
the Congress and four gondolas into the mouth of a
creek, flowing into a bay on the Panton shore, on the
east side of the lake, known thereafter as Arnold's Bay.
The water was too shallow for the larger British craft
to pursue. Here the small arms were removed and the
ships were set on fire, their colors still flying, and were
burned to the water's edge. Arnold was the last man
to leave the fleet. Staying on board until he was sure
the flames would do their work he climbed along the
bowsprit and dropped to the beach. The flag borne by
the American fleet in this contest consisted of alternate
red and white stripes like those of the present flag, and
the British Union Jack on a field of blue.
Leading his men through the forest, Arnold arrived
at Crown Point at four o'clock on Monday morning,
October 14, where he found the sloop Enterprise, the
galley Trnmhull, and one gondola, which had arrived
there the day before. The galley Lee had been run
ashore and blown up near Split Rock, on the west side
of the lake. The British had captured only the galley
22 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Washington and the gondola Jersey, although the Amer-
icans had lost one schooner, two galleys and seven gon-
dolas, ten vessels out of a fleet of fifteen. The killed
and wounded numbered between eighty and ninety, more
than twenty of the casualties being on Arnold's flag-
ship. In a letter describing Arnold's conduct, Gates
wrote to Schuyler: "Few men ever met with as many
hairbreadth escapes in so short a space of time." The
British loss, according to their own estimate, was forty,
although their opponents placed the figures considerably
higher. Lieutenant Dacres, who commanded the Carle-
ton, was accorded the honor of bearing news of the vic-
tory to Lord George Germaine.
General Carleton ordered his surgeons to treat the
American wounded with great kindness. The prisoners
were brought on board his flagship, where he praised
their bravery, treated them to grog, and sent them to
Ticonderoga in charge of Captain, afterwards Sir James
Craig, on giving their parole that they would not bear
arms against Great Britain again until they should be
exchanged. The prisoners were so enthusiastic over
Carleton's humane treatment that it was not considered
wise to allow them to land and sound the praises of the
British commander in the ears of the American troops ;
therefore they were hurried on to Skenesborough the
same night.
On the same day that Arnold reached Crown Point
the works at that place, by no means formidable, were
destroyed and troops and stores were removed to Ticon-
deroga. Carleton landed a force immediately, occupy-
ing both the east and west shores of the lake. He had
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 23
planned to proceed at once against Ticonderoga, but on
the next day, October 15, a strong wind sprang up, and
for eight days blew so hard that the British ships were
windbound. These days were invaluable to the Ameri-
can cause.
General Gates, commanding the army at Ticonderoga,
had assembled about twelve thousand men. While
Carleton was delayed at Crown Point, the troops sur-
rounded the American works with a strong abatis, and
made carriages for and mounted forty-seven cannon.
Carleton repaired the fortifications at Crown Point
and anchored three of his largest ships near Putnam's
Point, in the vicinity of which a body of light infantry,
grenadiers, and some Canadians and Indians were en-
camped. The woods were filled with reconnoitering
parties of British troops, some of them going as far
south as Lake George.
Between eight and nine o'clock on Monday morning,
October 27, a few of the British boats, crowded with
soldiers, approached Ticonderoga, and shots were ex-
changed with the shore batteries. Five large transports
landed a detachment at Three Mile Point, and two armed
boats approached the east shore. They were fired upon
by a row galley, and retired. Another party of British
troops was sent into a small bay about four miles below
the works.
General Gates ordered the American defences to be
manned, and directed that the three regiments from
Mount Independence should reinforce the main garrison.
Col. John Trumbull says of this episode: ''Ticon-
deroga must have had a very imposing aspect that day,
24 HISTORY OF VERMONT
when viewed from the lake. The whole summit of
cleared land on both sides of the lake, was crowned
with redoubts and batteries, all manned with a splendid
show of artillery and flags. The number of our troops
under arms (principally, however, militia) exceeded
thirteen thousand."
Having learned to his satisfaction that the Americans
were capable of making a spirited defence at Ticon-
deroga, Carleton withdrew at four o'clock in the after-
noon, and returned to Crown Point, where he made prep-
arations to retire to Canada for the winter. The rear
guard of the British army left the post on November 3,
and the same day it was reoccupied by the Americans.
General Reidesel, commander of the German troops,
accompanied General Carleton on this expedition and in
his "Memoirs" he noted the fact that on passing the bay
where Arnold's ships were sunk, he observed British
troops engaged in raising cannon and other sunken war
materials. Carleton was criticized because he did not
attack Ticonderoga at that time, and in Fonblanque's
"Burgoyne," it is stated that ''the English ministry were
displeased with the unfruitful termination of the cam-
paign."
General Gates wrote Col. Moses Robinson and Colonel
Brownson of the militia of the New Hampshire Grants
on November 9, thanking them for "the spirit and alert-
ness" shown in marching to the defence of Ticonderoga,
when it was threatened with an immediate attack from
the enemy, and dismissing these troops with honor.
When Gates learned that Carleton had departed, he
dismissed the militia, and with most of the regular
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 25
troops, departed for New Jersey to join Washington's
army. Gen. Anthony Wayne being left in command.
Captain Douglas, under whose direction the British
fleet had been constructed at St. Johns, sent a special
message of the Lake Champlain victory to the British
Ambassador at Madrid, '"presuming," he said, "that the
early knowledge of this great event in the southern part
of Europe may be of advantage to His Majesty's
service."
As rewards for the British naval triumph, General
Carleton was made a Knight of the Bath, and Captain
Douglas, a Baronet.
The battle of Lake Champlain was the first impor-
tant naval engagement of the Revolution, and, although
it must be counted an American defeat, yet, like the
defeat of the American army at Bunker Hill, it was
more than half a victory. It is true that the British loss
was not so great as in the famous Massachusetts engage-
ment ; but the masterly skill displayed by Arnold against
overwhelming odds, the steadiness and courage shown
by the rank and file, demonstrated alike to friend and
foe that the Americans were at least the equal, man for
man, of any fighting force in the world. Seldom has the
personality of a commander so dominated an entire body
of fighting men as did the gallant spirit of Benedict
Arnold, which seemed to possess the officers and men of
the little American fleet in the battle of Lake Champlain.
What this American defeat on Lake Champlain really
won for the national cause is best told by Captain Mahan,
whose supremacy as an authority in matters of naval
history is beyond question. In an article on "The Naval
26 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Campaign of 1776 on Lake Champiain," he says:
"That the Americans were strong enough to impose the
capitulation of Saratoga was due to the invaluable year
of delay, secured to them in 1776 by their little navy on
Lake Champlain, created by the indomitable energy, and
handled with the indomitable courage of the traitor,
Benedict Arnold. That the war spread from America
to Europe, from the English Channel to the Baltic, from
the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean, from the West
Indies to the Mississippi, and ultimately involved the
waters of the French peninsula of Hindostan, is trace-
able through Saratoga, to the rude flotilla which in 1776
anticipated the enemy in the possession of Lake Cham-
plain. * * * Considering its raw material and the
recency of its organization, words can scarcely exag-
gerate the heroism of the resistance which undoubtedly
depended chiefly upon the personal military qualities of
the leader. * * * The little American navy on Lake
Champlain was wiped out, but never had any force, big
or small, lived to better purpose or died more gloriously,
for it had saved the lake for that year. Whatever de-
ductions may be made for blunders and for circum-
stances of every character, which made the British cam-
paign in 1777 abortive and disastrous, and so led
directly to the American alliance with France in 1778,
the delay, with all that it involved, was obtained by the
lake campaign of 1776."
Captain Mahan's testimony of the importance of the
naval battle on Lake Champlain is corroborated by that
of Sir George Otto Trevelyan, in his ''American Revo-
lution." The English historian says : *'His (Arnold's)
NAVAL BATTLE, LAKE CHAMPLAIN 27
fellow countrymen repaid his frankness (in reporting
his losses) with almost universal approbation and grati-
tude. He had lost them a squadron which, but for his
personal exertions, would never have been built; and he
had lost it to some purpose. * * * Carleton had
unduly delayed his onward movement out of respect
for the preparations which the Americans were making
for his reception; and no English General after him
would have consented to be hoodwinked unless it was
clearly shown that those preparations, which had been
so widely and ably advertised, were a reality and not a
sham. Gunboats and galleys, in Arnold's view, were
made to be expended just as much as cartridges; and
any fate would be better for his ships than to skulk away
in front of the British advance until they were hunted
up against the shore at the head of Lake George, and
there trapped and taken like so many wild fowl in a
decoy. For most assuredly, even at that late season of
the year, Carleton would not have halted short of
Albany, or New York itself, if the Americans, whether
on lake or land, had made the ignominious confession
that they were afraid of fighting. * * * j^- ^^s
something to know that a leader existed who was eager
to hurl himself at the enemy, and fight an almost des-
perate battle as vigorously and obstinately as if victory
were not a bare chance, but a cheerful probability.
* * * Arnold's example aroused an outburst of en-
thusiasm and martial confidence throughout the States,
and most of all among those of his countrymen who were
nearest to the danger."
28 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Fortunate would it have been for the fame of Bene-
dict Arnold if a kind Providence had decreed that a
British bullet should have pierced his heart as he stood
on the Panton shore, watching the flames consume the
American colors, which he had saved by desperate
bravery from the humiliating fate of being lowered to
a victorious foe. Then he might have been enshrined
as one of the immortal heroes of our national history.
ChapTe:r XVII
BURGOYNE'S INVASION
FOR many months before Burgoyne invaded the
Champlain valley, the people of the New Hamp-
shire Grants had realized the danger of their ex-
posed condition. During the summer of 1776, the Com-
mittee of Safety of Cumberland county petitioned the
Massachusetts Assembly for a supply of ammunition,
and the Commissary General was ordered to deliver to
Maj. Abijah Lovering sixty pounds of powder, one hun-
dred and twenty pounds of lead, and one hundred flints,
"he paying for the same at the stated price." A peti-
tion of a similar nature from the town of Cavendish
was granted by Massachusetts.
The danger was greater, however, on the northern
frontier. Lieut. Col. Joseph Wait certified on Septem-
ber 1, 1776, that "the most advantageous post on Onion
River for the posting of six companies of men, raised for
the defence of the frontier, is at Jericho, at Baker's
blockhouse (at Winooski Falls) and at Colchester
Point." On the same day the commander of a company
raised by Capt. Jonathan Fassett was directed to main-
tain a post at Jericho. A party of Indians came within
one mile of Deacon Rood's home at Jericho on Septem-
ber 25, and captured a man and his two sons. About
the same time that day another band of Indians was
discovered seven or eight miles distant.
When the presence of the enemy became known to
the members of Captain Fassett's command, who were
working on the defences at Jericho, at Deacon Rood's
home, they paraded and determined to leave, only five or
six men being willing to stay. An attempt was made
to persuade them to remain at their post until word
32 HISTORY OF VERMONT
could be sent to General Gates, but to no avail. It was
argued that General Gates did not know the situation,
and they declared "they had as good die one way as an-
other." That night they withdrew across the river one
mile and a half to Williston, where they remained sev-
eral days. While at Williston the mutinous troops
made proposals to their officers, and a council of war was
held on September 28, at the home of Col. Thomas Chit-
tenden, attended by Capt. Jonathan Fassett, president,
Capt. John Fassett, Lieut. Rufus Perry, Lieut. Jonathan
Wright, and Lieut Matthew Lyon, clerk.
The proposals made were as follows :
"Firstly. That the officers take their command in
their proper stations in the following towns, viz. : That
they will immediately march the men off Onion River
to the southward to some place on Otter Creek, in order
to defend the frontiers on the New Hampshire Grants,
which was, as they supposed, the extent of their being
raised, and the General's being requested to encourage
the raising them.
"Secondly. That they will resign the command on
no other terms.
"Thirdly. That the officers may have half an hour to
consider of those proposals.
"Fourthly. That in case the officers shall refuse those
proposals, that each soldier will immediately march to
his respective house."
The officers agreed to accept the terms on condition
that the leaders of the mutiny should be surrendered
for purposes of justice, and they sent Capt. John Fassett
to treat with the mutineers, who rejected the terms, say-
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 33
ing that at the risk of their lives they would not deliver
their leaders, the action of the men having been unani-
mous.
The officers then acceded to the terms proposed, "hav-
ing taken into consideration the poor, weak situation we
are in — officers without soldiers, and soldiers without
officers, in an enemy's land — savages all round us," to
quote from the account of the episode sent to General
Gates by Lieut. Matthew Lyon. From Williston the
detachment marched to Monkton.
When Lyon reported to General Gates that officer
"damned him for a coward" and ordered him under ar-
rest. A court martial was held, on October 16, at which
General St. Clair presided, and rendered the following
decision : "The court having duly considered the evidence
for and against the prisoners, are of opinion that Capt.
Jonathan Fassett, Capt. John Fassett, Lieut. Jonathan
Wright and Matthew Lyon, are guilty of deserting their
post without orders, or without being attacked or forced
by the enemy; and that they are also with Lieut. Rufus
Perry, guilty of a breach of the sixth article of war,
and so adjudge that the said Jonathan Fassett and John
Fassett, Lieutenant Wright and Lieutenant Rufus
Perry and Lieut. Matthew Lyon, be cashiered, forfeit all
their pay (to be appropriated towards making good the
damages sustained by the inhabitants on Onion River
on account of their unsoldierlike retreat) and that they
be, and that each of them are hereby declared to be in-
capable of ever hereafter holding any military commis-
sions or employment in the service of the United States
34 HISTORY OF VERMONT
of America, and that their names and crimes be pub-
lished in the newspapers."
The court found sixteen persons guilty of mutiny and
four not guilty. Corp. John Whitley was reduced
to the ranks, and he, Amos Fassett and Samuel Smith
were sentenced to receive thirty-nine lashes each on the
bare back, and be imprisoned one week picking oakum.
The others were to be imprisoned one week at the same
task, after receiving twenty lashes each on the bare
back. This sentence was approved by General St. Clair,
with directions that it be put into execution immedi-
ately.
In July of the following year, upon the recommenda-
tion of General St. Clair, Lyon was restored to the
army by General Schuyler, who appointed him Pay-
master of a Continental regiment commanded by Seth
Warner. The soldiers sentenced by court martial were
released on the approach of General Carleton. It was
Lyon's contention that the ordering of the troops to
Jericho was in response to the urgent plea of certain
speculators who had bought for a trifle the crops on
the northern frontiers abandoned by the owners, and
desired protection. On the other hand, Pliny H. White,
a careful student of Vermont history, in an address
delivered in 1858, said that some of the officers stationed
at Jericho did not scruple to suggest to the soldiers that
if they should mutiny and march ofif, the officers would
be under no obligation to remain at Jericho. In any
event the episode was a disgraceful one, and furnished
another illustration of the lack of subordination which
added so materially to the trials of Washington and
his subordinate officers during the American Revolution.
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 35
Col. Timothy Brownson, on October 23, wrote Gen-
eral Gates that he was detained at Castleton by rumors
of ''a cursed plan a laying by the Tories below." This
plan seems to have been that the people were to be lulled
to a false sense of security by General Carleton, who
was to allow the northern settlers to "continue on their
farms in peace," Brownson adds: ''We must return
and put another spur to their sides. Shall return about
forty or fifty miles, as the Tories begin to grow very
bold."
General Schuyler, knowing that "the evil day" merely
was postponed, and that another season would witness
a formidable British invasion by way of Lake Cham-
plain, was active in attempting to prepare for an attack.
Again and again he called the attention of Washington
and of Congress to the needs of the northern depart-
ment. He also labored to conciliate the Indians, and to
keep informed regarding the movements of the enemy.
The garrison at Ticonderoga was not large, and some
apprehension was felt lest a British expedition might
take advantage of the frozen surface of the lake to make
a winter attack upon the American works. Carleton,
however, made no such attempt. Although normally
the garrison numbered about two thousand, five hundred
men, the number soon was reduced by sickness to one
thousand, seven hundred.
Wayne wrote the Pennsylvania Council of Safety, on
December 4, concerning the garrison: "The wretched
condition they are now in for want of almost every
necessary convenience of life, except flour and bad beef,
is shocking to humanity, and beggars all description.
We have neither beds nor bedding for our sick to lay
36 HISTORY OF VERMONT
on or under, other than their own clothing; no medicine
or regimen suitable for them; the dead and dying
mingled together in our hospital, or rather house of
carnage, is no uncommon sight." On the same day Col.
Joseph Wood also wrote to the Council, saying that
although requisition had been made for thirteen thou-
sand men, only nine hundred pairs of shoes had been
supplied, and that at least one-third of the poor wretches
were obliged to do duty barefooted. He voiced his in-
dignation by saying: ''This is shocking to humanity;
nay, it cannot be viewed in any milder light than black
murder."
It was indeed fortunate for this American garrison
that the attack feared from the north, over the ice of
Lake Champlain, was not made at this time.
During this period there were "fightings within" as
well as ''fears without." On the night after Christmas,
December 26, a Pennsylvania officer stationed at Ticon-
deroga, while partially intoxicated, assaulted a Massa-
chusetts Colonel, and this affair led to a riot, in which
the Pennsylvanians taunted the "Yankees," and fired
upon the Massachusetts men, wounding several. The
matter was not made the subject of a court martial and
a reconciliation was effected by means of a dinner, a
time-honored expedient. The Pennsylvania officer sent
his men into the woods on a hunting expedition, where
they killed a fat bear. Bruin formed the piece de re-
sistance of a banquet to which the insulted Massachu-
setts Colonel and his officers were invited ; the invitation
was accepted, the bear was eaten, and harmony once
more reigned in the American camp.
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 37
Wayne wrote to Schuyler on February 13, 1777, that
a scouting party had secured information showing that
there were five hundred British troops at St. Johns;
three hundred at Isle aux Noix, with a battery of twelve
guns; and twenty at Point au Fer. At le Gran Isle
(Grand Isle) they found one hundred Indians and a few
regulars, part of the force being posted on the west shore
of the lake. On April 13, Wayne wrote from Ticon-
deroga that three days before a strong party of the en-
emy was discovered at the group of islands in the lake
known as the Four Brothers.
Gates and Schuyler did not get on well together, and
there was a question as to whom the command in the
Champlain valley belonged. This was settled in Con-
gress on May 22, when Schuyler was elected commander
of Albany, Ticonderoga and Fort Stanwix, and their
dependencies, by a majority of one State. When Gates
received the news he started for Philadelphia to pull the
wires for reinstatement.
To Gen. Arthur St. Clair, called the best of the Brig-
adiers in the North, was assigned, by General Schuyler
on June 5, the active command of Ticonderoga. St.
Clair, a Scotchman by birth, traced his line of descent
from a noble family, and was a kinsman of Gen. Thomas
Gage, who commanded the British troops in Boston at
the outbreak of the American Revolution. Securing a
commission in the army, St. Clair won commendation
for his services at Louisburg, under Amherst. He was
with General Wolfe at the capture of Quebec, and on
the Plains of Abraham he seized the colors from the
hand of a dying soldier and carried them to victory.
Allied by marriage with the family of Governor Bow-
38 HISTORY OF VERMONT
doin of Massachusetts, he had acquired a large property
in Pennsylvania and was accounted a wealthy land
holder at the outbreak of the Revolution. Joining the
American army, he served in the Canadian campaign,
and was with Washington in New Jersey during the
winter of 1776-77. A man of polished manners, of
superior talents, and of upright character, he came to
his new task highly recommended for the responsible
position.
St. Clair arrived at Ticonderoga on June 12. His
estimate of the adequacy of the garrison is expressed
as follows: ''Had every man I had been disposed of
in single file on the different works, and along the
lines of defense, they would have been scarcely within
reach of each other's voices; but Congress had been
persuaded that the enemy would make no attempt in
that quarter, and such a number of men only as were
judged to be sufficient for completing the works that
had been projected, were assigned to me. Those two
thousand, half armed and ill equipped every way, I
found arranged into many regiments, with their full
complement of officers, and three Brigadiers."
With the coming of the summer, and the expectation
that the British would attack the fort, great exertions
were made to strengthen the works, which had been laid
out by Thaddeus Kosciusko, the Polish patriot. Ap-
parently the portion of the fortifications on the Vermont
side, at Mount Independence, received the most atten-
tion, and really constituted the most important part of
the Ticonderoga defences.
To connect the works on opposite sides of the lake,
a floating bridge, four hundred yards long, was con-
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 39
structed, supported by twenty-two sunken piers made
of large timbers. The spaces between these piers were
filled with separate floats, each about fifty feet long and
twelve feet wide, strongly fastened together with iron
chains and rivets. On the north side of the bridge was
a boom constructed of large timbers riveted together;
and by the side of this boom a double iron chain, the
links of which were an inch and a half square. This
barrier was supposed to make the passage of a British
fleet impossible, and was erected at great expense.
At the foot of Mount Independence, toward the lake,
a breastwork had been thrown up, and this was strength-
ened by an abatis and a strong battery near the mouth
of East Creek. The old French lines west of the fort
had been strengthened and were guarded by a block-
house. Half a mile in front of the French lines a small
fort on Mount Hope protected the extreme left, while
redoubts and batteries were placed in the low lands be-
low the fort. An outpost was established at the old
sawmills, one on the rapids at the outlet of Lake George,
and another just above that place. At the northern end
of Lake George a hospital and blockhouse were erected.
Mount Defiance, seven hundred and fifty feet high,
which commanded the outlet of Lake George and the
entire works, was left unfortified, as it was supposed
that it would not be possible to occupy that eminence.
The defences had been planned on a large scale, ex-
tending for more than two miles and a half in the form
of a crescent, and needed at least ten thousand men to
defend them. To man these works St. Clair had about
two thousand, eight hundred regulars and nine hun-
dred raw and undisciplined militia, poorly armed and
40 HISTORY OF VERMONT
equipped, eight out of every nine men being without a
bayonet. It was expected that an assault would be made
upon the works, and among the weapons of defence pro-
vided were poles about twelve feet long with sharp iron
points, designed to be used in repelling an attacking
force.
Congress authorized Washington to call upon the
Eastern States to raise and forward regiments for the
defence of Ticonderoga. Following these instructions
he wrote the President of the New Hampshire State
Council on May 3 : "You must be fully sensible of the
vast importance of what is depending and the almost
irreparable consequences that would result, should any
misfortune happen to the post now threatened, as the
loss of it would open an avenue for easy progress into
the Eastern States; to prevent which it might probably
be some time before an adequate force could be opposed.
The pressing emergency of the occasion calls loudly for
every effort in your power."
Gen. John Burgoyne was chosen in March, 1777, to
command the Northern British army. He was an officer
of considerable experience, who had won laurels in Por-
tugal, a polished gentleman, a writer of plays, and a
member of Parliament; but he did not understand the
situation in America with anything like the thorough-
ness of Sir Guy Carleton's comprehension of the subject,
and his appointment generally was considered a slight
upon the Governor of Canada. Nevertheless, Carleton
cooperated in every way possible to make the expedition
by way of Lake Champlain a success. He kept the
British squadron in repair, trained the regulars in man-
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 41
ceuvres suitable for forest warfare, and reserved only
a small garrison to guard the Canadian posts.
The regular troops numbered rather more than four
thousand men, and all were seasoned veterans. Gen.
Simon Fraser, one of the three brigade commanders, had
served under Wolfe at Louisburg and Quebec. Of
General Phillips, who had won fame in the German
wars, it is said: "It may well be doubted whether a
better artillery officer, in quarters or on the field, ever
held a commission." Lord Balcarras was a Colonel of
light infantry, and although only thirty-five years old,
had been in the service for twenty years.
The grenadiers were under Maj. John Dyke Acl'and,
"heir apparent to the greatest family of English land
owners, who have consented to remain commoners." He
was a member of Parliament, and a cousin of Charles
James Fox by marriage. The light infantry and grena-
diers were said to be such a body of men as "could not
be raised in a twelvemonth, search England through."
The Indians, of whom there were about five hundred,
having been allured to the British camp by the prospect
of unlimited quantities of rum and the possibility of
getting scalps, were commanded by La Corne St. Luc,
whose name was a terror to the colonies, and a synonym
of savage barbarity. There were also a few Canadian
militia.
Part of Burgoyne's force consisted of more than three
thousand German troops, not all of them, properly
speaking, Hessians, as they have been called, many being
Brunswickers. They had been secured by conscription
from the Landgrave of Hesse and the Duke of Bruns-
wick, and came to England poorly clothed and shod.
42 HISTORY OF VERMONT
They sailed for America without overcoats and suffered
much from the rigors of a Canadian winter, and from
homesickness. Fredrich Adolph von Reidesel was the
principal German officer. He had been specially selected
for his military experience, which covered a long period
including the Seven Years' War.
Justin Winsor says the army was made up of four
thousand one hundred and thirty-five British soldiers,
three thousand one hundred and sixteen Germans, one
hundred and forty-eight Canadians and five hundred
and three Indians, a total of seven thousand nine hun-
dred and two. Winsor also declares that this force was
"probably the finest and most excellently supplied as to
officers and private men that had ever been allotted to
second the operations of any army." The equipment
included a complete train of brass artillery of forty-two
pieces.
Burgoyne reached Quebec in May, 1777, having vis-
ited England the previous winter, and early in June the
British army left St. Johns. The plan of campaign was
to cut the colonies in twain by isolating New Eng-
land and the Hudson valley from the remainder of the
country. Burgoyne was to proceed to Albany by way
of Lake Champlain and the Hudson River, while Gen-
eral Howe was to come up the Hudson valley to meet
him. Eraser's corps left St. Johns, June 5, and advanced
that day to Point au Fer. On June 8 it arrived at the
mouth of the Ausable River, and on June 12 it advanced
to the mouth of the Boquet.
In a letter to General Harvey, written from Mon-
treal, May 19, 1777, Burgoyne outlined his plan of cam-
paign as follows : *'My intention is, during my advance
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 43
to Ticonderoga, and siege of that post, for a siege I
apprehend it must be, to give all possible jealousy on
the side of Connecticut (probably meaning the Connec-
ticut valley). If I can by manoeuvre make them sus-
pect that after the reduction of Ticonderoga my views
are pointed that way, it may make the Connecticut forces
very cautious of leaving their own frontiers, and much
facilitate my progress to Albany."
As the fleet left St. Johns, under command of Cap-
tain Lutwidge, the royal standard was raised on the
flagship and was saluted by all the shipping and forts.
Head winds caused some delay, bad weather and bad
roads also delaying land transportation, and at Cum-
berland Head a halt was made for the arrival of stores
and ammunition. Seven hundred carts were brought
for moving baggage and supplies at the portage between
the lakes and the Hudson River, and one thousand five
hundred horses were sent by land on the west side of
the lake under a strong escort.
The army assembled at Cumberland Head between
June 17 and June 20, the German troops arriving on
June 18. On June 19 Fraser bought some cattle on the
east side of the lake and distributed some of Burgoyne's
proclamations. The whole army broke camp on June
20, General Burgoyne embarking on the Lady Mary
"with great pomp." The war fleet made a brave spec-
tacle, with music and banners, as it advanced southward,
with the beautiful setting of midsummer on- Lake Cham-
plain. The scene recalls Abercrombie's advance down
Lake George, about a decade earlier.
Capt. Thomas Aubrey, a young British officer, an eye
witness, gave this description of the scene: "When in
44 HISTORY OF VERMONT
the widest part of the lake it was remarkably fine and
clear, not a breeze stirring, when the whole army ap-
peared at one view in such perfect regularity as to form
the most complete and splendid regatta ever beheld. In
the front the Indians went in their birch canoes con-
taining twenty or thirty in each ; then the advanced corps
in a regular line with the gunboats; then followed the
Royal George and Inflexible, towing large booms which
are to be thrown across two points of land, with the
other brigs and sloops following; after them the brigades
in their order."
By midday the army arrived at its camp in Ligonier
Bay, on the Willsboro shore. General Fraser had left
with his brigade for the mouth of the Boquet River
a day in advance of the main body of the army, and
Burgoyne hurried to overtake him, leaving General
Reidesel in command.
At the mouth of the Boquet, on June 21, Burgoyne
halted to give a great war feast, being joined by four
hundred Iroquois, Algonquins, Abenakis and Ottawas.
In his speech on this occasion the British commander
poured contempt upon the rebels, and added: "War-
riors, you are free — go forth in the might of your valor
and your cause — strike at the common enemies of Great
Britain and America, disturbers of public order, peace
and happiness, destroyers of commerce, parricides of
the state. * * * Be it our task from the dictates of our
religion, the laws of our warfare, and the principles and
interest of our policy, to regulate your passions when
they overbear, to point out when it is nobler to spare
than to revenge, to discriminate degrees of guilt, to sus-
pend the uplifted stroke, to chastise and not to destroy.*'
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 45
He laid down these rules for his savage allies : "I posi-
tively forbid bloodshed when you are not opposed in
arms. Aged men, women, children and prisoners must
be held sacred from the knife or hatchet, even in the
time of actual conflict. You shall receive compensation
for the prisoners you take; but you shall be called to
account for scalps.
''In conformity and. indulgence to your customs, which
have affixed an idea of honor to such badges of victory,
you shall be allowed to take the scalps of the dead when
killed by your fire, and in fair opposition; but on no
account or pretence, or subtlety or prevarication are they
to be taken from the wounded, or even dying; and still
less pardonable, if possible, will it be held, to kill men
in that condition on purpose, and upon a supposition that
this protection to the wounded would be thereby evaded.
''Base lurking assassins, incendiaries, ravagers and
plunderers of the country, to whatever army they may
belong, shall be treated with less reserve ; but the latitude
must be given you by order, and I must be the judge
of the occasion.
"Should the enemy on their part dare to countenance
acts of barbarity towards those who may fall into their
hands, it shall be yours also to retaliate."
In Parliament, Fox, Burke, and Chatham, in the most
vigorous terms, condemned the employment of the In-
dians. In the House of Commons, Burke held up to
ridicule Burgoyne's speech to his savage allies, saying:
"Suppose there was a riot on Tower Hill. What would
the keeper of His Majesty's lions do? Would he not
fling open the dens of the wild beasts, and address them
thus: 'My gentle lions, my humane bears — my tender-
46 HISTORY OF VERMONT
hearted hyneas, go forth ! But I exhort you as you are
Christians and members of civil society, to take care not
to hurt any man, woman or child'."
Reidesel attempted to get under way with the main
body of the army on the morning of June 23, but after
several unsuccessful attempts to round Point Ligonier
in a violent gale, he was obliged to wait until the follow-
ing morning. After the expedition had started a severe
thunder storm arose which was succeeded by a fog so
dense that it was necessary to beat the drums continually
in order that the fleet might be kept together. If "the
stars in their courses" did not fight against the British
army and its German commander on this occasion, the
elements certainly did. The fog was followed by a tem-
pestuous wind, which drove five vessels out of their
course, and their occupants were forced to land on one
of the group of islands known as the Four Brothers, to
which the French had given the more poetic name of
the Islands of the Four Winds. Reidesel was able, on
June 25, to get his fleet past the mouth of the Boquet
River, and on the following day the army arrived at
Crown Point, a portion of the troops which started be-
fore the main body having arrived on the same day.
General St. Clair received word on June 26 from the
Otter Creek region that a large party of Indians and
Tories, reported to number five hundred, had gone up
that stream on June 23. They captured some cattle, and
halted two miles above Middlebury Falls. Their plan
was supposed to be to cut off American communication
by way of Skenesborough, and it was expected that the
raiders would reach the new road near Castleton the
night of June 26. The force had been sent out by Gen-
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 47
eral Fraser, under command of his nephew, Captain
Fraser, with orders to join him at Chimney Point.
St. Clair sent Colonel Warner to the New Hamp-
shire Grants on June 27 to raise a body of men to oppose
the incursion, to attack the raiders, and to join the main
army as soon as possible. Warner performed his task
of rallying the militia, and from Rutland, on July 2,
sent the following characteristic letter to the convention
of delegates representing the people of the New Hamp-
shire Grants, then in session at Windsor: "I have last
evening received an express from the General command-
ing at Ticonderoga who informs me the enemy have
come on with seventeen sloops and other craft, and
lie at the Three Mile Point, and the General expects an
attack every hour. The enemy put to land on said point,
and they have had a skirmish, but the General informs
me to no great purpose. Orders me to send for the
militia to join him as soon as possibly they can get there,
from this State, and the Massachusetts and New Hamp-
shire. I have sent an express to Col. Simons, went off
last night. Col. Robinson and Col. Williams is now at
Hubbardton waiting to be joined by Col. Bellows who is
now with me. When the whole join they will make in
No. about 700 or 800 men. I know not where to apply
but to you to raise the militia on the east side of the
Mountain. Shall expect that you send on all the men
that can possibly be raised, and that you will do what
lies in your power to supply the troops at Ticonderoga
with beef, as if the siege should be long, they will abso-
lutely be in want of meat kind except the country exert
themselves — if 40 or 50 head of cattle could be brought
on with the militia they will be paid for by the com-
48 HISTORY OF VERMONT
issary on their arrival. The safety of that post con-
sists much on the exertions of the country. I should
be glad a few hills of corn unhoed should not be a mo-
tive sufficient to detain men at home considering the
loss of such an important post can hardly be recovered.
I am, gentlemen, in the greatest respect your most obe-
dient and very humble serv't,
"Seth Warner."
Colonel Warner was not the only officer during the
long struggle for American Independence to whom the
problem of the leaving of "a few hills of corn unhoed"
brought great vexation of spirit; nor was this problem
peculiar to the New Hampshire Grants. The attempt
to conduct farm operations and perform the duties of
a soldier at different periods during the same season,
was attended with many difficulties, probably for the
farm, and certainly for the army. But the absolute
dependence of a large portion of the population for their
very existence upon the raising and harvesting of crops
should not be overlooked; and not a few American vic-
tories were won during the conflict by ''embattled farm-
ers," who laid aside, temporarily, the hoe or the scythe,
to take up the rifle.
There is no record to show that Warner encountered
the Indian and Tory raiders, but he returned to Ticon-
deroga July 5, bringing, according to Hiland Hall, nine
hundred militia, mostly Yermonters.
Captain Fraser had returned to the British lines with
a few prisoners, but with no cattle, and had reported
"that all the inhabitants of the country through which
he passed were exceedingly disaffected and had assisted
to drive their cattle from the King's troops."
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 49
The first detachments of the British army, accom-
panied by General Burgoyne, reached Crown Point with
some of the ships, on the evening of June 24. General
Fraser occupied Chimney Point, June 25, and by means
of an abatis strengthened his position, having advanced
from Button Mould Bay where he had encamped on
June 24. General Reidesel, with the main body of the
army, arrived on June 26. Two English brigades occu-
pied the level ground around the fortress. Breymann's
corps was stationed on the right bank of the lake "near
the windmill," while General Reidesel, with his German
brigade, encamped "on the promontory called Chimney
Point."
Burgoyne halted here for several days, not only to
bring up the rear of the army, but also for the purpose
of establishing magazines, and a hospital, and to gain
intelligence concerning the task that awaited him. It is
evident from his correspondence that he expected that
a siege would be a necessary part of his campaign.
On June 30, he ordered General Fraser to take com-
mand of the advanced corps, consisting of the British
light infantry and grenadiers, the 25th regiment, some
Canadians and Indians, and ten pieces of light artillery,
and move from Putnam Creek up the west shore of the
lake to a point four miles from Ticonderoga. At the
same time the German reserve under Lieutenant Colonel
Breymann, consisting of the Brunswick chasseurs, light
infantry and grenadiers, moved to Richardson's farm,
on the west shore opposite Putnam Creek. On the fol-
lowing day, July 12, the whole army moved forward.
General Eraser's corps occupying Three Mile Point, a
strong post on the west shore, while the left wing, or
50 HISTORY OF VERMONT
German troops, advanced to a point nearly opposite, on
the east shore. The frigates Royal George and Inflexible,
with the gunboats, were anchored just beyond the range
of the guns of the American fortifications, covering the
lake from the west to the east shore.
The following description of the American position
by General Burgoyne, in a letter, gives a good idea of
the disposition of St. Clair's troops: "A brigade occu-
pied the old French lines on the height to the north of
the fort of Ticonderoga. These lines were in good re-
pair and had several intrenchments behind them, chiefly
calculated to guard the northwest flank, and were fur-
ther sustained by a blockhouse. They had further to
their left a post at the sawmills, which are at the foot
of the carrying place to Lake George, and a blockhouse
and hospital at the entrance of the lake. Upon the right
of the lines, and between them and the old fort, there
were two new blockhouses and a considerable battery
close to the entrance of the lake. It seemed that the
enemy had employed their chief industry and were in
the greatest force upon Mount Independence, which is
high and circular, and upon the summit, which is a table-
land, was a star fort, made of pickets and w^ell supplied
with artillery, and a large square of barracks within it.
The foot of the hill on the side which projects into the
lake, was intrenched and had a strong abatis close to
the water. This intrenchment was lined with heavy
artillery pointed down to the lake, flanking the water
battery above described, and sustained by another bat-
tery about half way up the hill. On the west side the
hill runs the main river (the lake), and in its passage
is joined by the water which comes down from Lake
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 51
George. The enemy had here a bridge of communica-
tion which could not at this time be reconnoitered. On
the east side of the hill the water forms a small bay,
into which falls a rivulet after having encircled in its
course part of the hill to the southwest. The side to
the south could not be seen, but was described as inac-
cessible."
About nine o'clock on the morning of July 2, the
British observed a smoke towards Lake George and the
Indians reported that the Americans had set fire to the
farther blockhouse and had abandoned their post at the
sawmills. The report further stated that the Americans
were in considerable force advancing from their lines
toward a bridge upon the road which led from the saw-
mills toward the right of the British camp. General
Fraser, with a portion of the advanced corps, supported
by the second brigade and some light artillery, com-
manded by General Phillips, were ordered to reconnoiter
the American position and "to take advantage of any
post they might abandon or be driven from." In a slight
skirmish near the sawmills, Lord Balcarras, command-
ing the light infantry, was slightly wounded and his
clothes were pierced with thirty bullet holes. Lieutenant
Hagget was shot in both eyes and mortally wounded.
While Lieutenant Douglass of the 29th regiment was
being carried from the field wounded, he was shot
through the heart by a sharpshooter.
Captain Fraser, a nephew of General Fraser, was
directed to take his marksmen and a body of Indians,
to make a circuit to the left of the line of march taken
by his uncle's corps, and to attempt to cut ofif the retreat
of the American troops. This attempt failed, according
52 HISTORY OF VERMONT
to Burgoyne's description, on account of the impetuosity
of the Indians, who attacked too soon, and in front.
Fraser says frankly, "the Indians were mostly drunk."
For this reason, the Americans were able to retire within
their lines, with the -loss of one officer and a few men
killed and one officer wounded. St. Clair, suspecting-
that this attack might be the beginning of a general
assault, ordered his men to conceal themselves behind
the parapet. Seeing a British soldier firing repeatedly
under cover of the brushwood in front of the works,
Colonel Wilkinson ordered a Sergeant to rise and shoot
him. Thereupon, without orders, the American soldiers
rose to their feet and began firing, the artillerymen fol-
lowed suit, and three rounds were discharged before
General St. Clair and his staff officers could stop the
firing. When the smoke cleared away, the enemy under
Captain Fraser were seen at a distance of three hundred
yards retreating in disorder. Two Indians were killed
and three were wounded. Lieutenant Houghton and
two or three British soldiers were wounded.
On the night of July 2, General Phillips took posses-
sion of the eminence to which General Fraser gave the
name of Mount Hope, and the next day, July 3, it w^as
occupied in force by General Fraser's entire corps, the
first British brigade and two brigades of artillery. The
second British brigade encamped upon the left of the
first brigade, and a portion of the German troops, the
Brigade of Gall, was transferred from the Vermont
shore of Lake Champlain to occupy the position vacated
by Fraser's brigade. Thus the British line extended on
July 3 from Three Mile Point to the western portion of
Mount Hope. Meanwhile General Reidesel advanced
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 53
his forces on the eastern shore of the lake to a position
opposite Three Mile Point, having pushed his reserves
forward nearly as far as the rivulet that partially en-
circled Mount Independence. The Americans abandoned
Mount Hope without a contest because their forces were
too few to warrant the possibility of successful resist-
ance, although the possession of this height by the Brit-
ish cut off St. Clair's communication by way of Lake
George. During the day the American artillery kept
up a vigorous cannonade upon the British position on
Mount Hope, and upon the camp of the German reserves
without accomplishing any apparent results.
Burgoyne issued a bombastic proclamation, on July
4, intended to strike terror to the hearts of the people
of the Champlain valley. It began as follows: "By
John Burgoyne, Esq., Lieutenant-General of His Majes-
ty's armies in America, Colonel of the Queen's regiment
of light dragoons. Governor of Fort William in North
Britain, one of the Representatives of the Commons of
Great Britain in Parliament and commanding an army
and fleet employed on an expedition from Canada, etc.,
etc., etc."
After setting forth the monstrous wickedness of
the rebels, he says: ''Determined to strike where neces-
sary, and anxious to spare where possible, I by these
presents invite and exhort all persons in all places where
the progress of this army may point, and by the blessing
of God I will extend it far, to maintain such conduct
as may justify me in protecting their lands, habitations
and families. * * "^ The domestic, the industrious, the
infirm and even the timid inhabitants, I am desirous
to protect, provided they remain quietly at their houses ;
54 HISTORY OF VERMONT
that they do not suffer their cattle to be removed, nor
their corn or forage to be secreted or destroyed; that
they do not break up their bridges or roads, nor by any
other act, directly or indirectly, endeavor to obstruct
the operations of the King's troops, or supply or assist
those of the enemy. Every species of provision brought
to my camp will be paid for at an equitable rate, and in
solid coin."
After holding out the promise of protection, and the
temptation of hard money for provisions, the threat of
Indian horrors is paraded, in order to frighten the in-
habitants into submission, in these words: "In con-
sciousness of Christianity, my royal master's clemency,
and the honor of soldiership, I have dwelt upon this
invitation, and wished for more persuasive terms to give
it impression: And let not people be led to disregard
it, by considering their distance from the immediate
situation of my camp. I have but to give stretch to the
Indian forces under my direction and they amount to
thousands, to overtake the hardened enemies of Great
Britain and America: I consider them the same wher-
ever they may lurk.
"If, notwithstanding, these endeavors and sincere in-
clinations to effect them, the phrenzy of hostility should
remain, I trust I shall stand acquitted in the eyes of
God and men, in denouncing and executing the ven-
geance of the state against the wilful outcasts. The
messengers of justice and of wa-ath await them in the
field; and devastation, famine and every concomitant
horror that a reluctant but indespensible prosecution of
military duty must occasion, will bar the way to their
return."
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 55
This proclamation called forth many replies in both
prose and verse. As a sample of the ridicule which it
called forth, the following extract is taken from a parody
widely circulated at the time:
"I will let loose the dogs of hell,
Ten thousand Indians who shall yell.
And foam and tear and grin and roar,
And drench their moccasins in gore;
To them I'll give full scope and play
From Ticonderog' to Florida.
"If, after all these loving warnings.
My wishes and my bowels' yearnings,
You should remain as deaf as adder,
Or grow with hostile rage the madder ;
I swear by St. George and St. Paul,
I will exterminate you all;
Subscribe with my manual sign,
To that these presents, John Burgoyne."
The British commander was not in haste to follow
Abercrombie's example, and make a general assault
upon the works. He preferred, therefore, to invest the
fortress, bringing up his artillery, stores, and provisions
on July 4, and drawing his lines closer to Mount Inde-
pendence.
St. Clair tried his best to cheer his troops, although
he realized the perilous situation of his army. He still
cherished the hope that Burgoyne might assault the
works, and thus afford him the opportunity of making
an effort to resist the enemy, having planned to con-
centrate his troops on Mount Independence.
56 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Near the point where the waters of Lake George flow
into Lake Champlain, there rises a high and rugged
eminence, which was known in the early history of this
region as Sugar Hill, or Sugar Loaf Hill, generally sup-
posed to be inaccessible for artillery, but entirely dom-
inating the surrounding region.
Soon after the return of the American army from
Canada, on an occasion when the principal officers of
his staff were seated at General Gates' table, Col. John
Trumbull advanced what he termed "the new and heret-
ical opinion," that the position of the Northern army
was "bad and untenable" because it was overlooked in
all parts by Sugar Hill, hitherto neglected by French,
English and American engineers. Trumbull was ridi-
culed for advancing such an idea, as the hill was con-
sidered too far from the American works to be available
for artillery, if it were possible to draw cannon to its
summit. The Connecticut Colonel not willing that his
opinion should be laughed out of court, obtained the
permission of General Gates to make some experiments,
and proceeding to the north point of Mount Independ-
ence, where Major Stevens was examining and proving
cannon, he selected a twelve-pounder, a long, double-
fortified, brass gun of French manufacture, loaded it
with the best powder and a double charge of shot, and
requested Major Stevens to point it at the summit of
Sugar Hill. Stevens predicted that the gun would not
carry across the lake, but to his surprise the charge
struck more than half way up the hill. Colonel Trum-
bull reported at headquarters the result of the test, and
after dinner he invited General Gates and his officers
to walk out upon the glacis of the old French fort, where
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 57
a field gun, a six-pounder, was loaded and aimed at
Sugar Hill, the shot striking near the summit.
It was still maintained, however, that the summit was
inaccessible. To meet this objection Colonel Trumbull,
accompanied by General Arnold, Colonel Wayne and
other officers, crossed in General Gates' barge to the
foot of the eminence, "where it was most precipitous
and rocky," and soon climbed to the summit. Trum-
bull said: "The ascent was difficult and laborious, but
not impracticable, and when we looked down upon the
outlet of Lake George, it was obvious to all that there
could be no difficulty in driving up a loaded carriage."
Following this demonstration, Trumbull drew up two
plans, the first showing that the existing system bf
defence required at least ten thousand men and one
hundred pieces of artillery for its defence; the second
estimated the expense of erecting a permanent fortifica-
tion on the summit of Sugar Hill, which would com-
mand completely the narrow parts of both Lake Cham-
plain and Lake George, large enough to accommodate
a garrison of five hundred men and mounting twenty-
five heavy guns, the cost being in a ratio of twenty to
one in favor. He sent copies of these plans, together
with a description of the present position, to General
Gates, General Schuyler and to Congress, and there the
matter ended.
As Burgoyne's army drew the lines closer around
historic Ticonderoga, the offensive possibilities of Sugar
Hill impressed General Fraser, and on the afternoon
of July 4, he sent Captain Craig with forty men of the
light infantry and a few Indians to reconnoiter the
height. At 12 o'clock that night the captain reported
58 HISTORY OF VERMONT
that he had surmounted the hill and found it "very com-
manding ground," a conclusion which even General
Gates' staff would not dispute. Evidently Captain
Craig's report lacked the definite information needed as
a basis for military operations, and although the weather
on the afternoon of July 5 was "abominably hot," to
quote General Eraser's words, that officer, taking Lieu-
tenant Twiss, the ranking engineer, ascended the hill,
which he named Mount Defiance.
It was found that this eminence commanded the en-
tire works at Ticonderoga and Mount Independence.
No material movement could be made by the Americans
without being discovered, and even the number of their
soldiers could be counted. It was found that the
summit could be levelled so that a battery could be
located, and although a difficult task, a road could be
constructed in twenty-four hours suitable for transport-
ing cannon to the top of the mountain. Eraser ordered
an abatis to be constructed, left a guard on the height,
and returned to camp. Burgoyne had imagined that
afternoon that the Americans were retiring from Mount
Independence, and sent the gtmboats forward to inves-
tigate, but a brisk fire from St. Clair's batteries con-
vinced the British commander of his error, and he was
in a mood to listen to the favorable reports of Eraser
and Twiss and to urge that every effort be made to
occupy Mount Defiance. It was determined that a bat-
tery should be established on that favorable height con-
sisting of light twenty-four pounders, medium twelve-
pounders, and eight-inch howitzers. A road was cut
up the mountain side by working night and day, and
eight cannon were dragged up by aid of oxen, the op-
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 59
erations proceeding under the direction of General Phil-
lips.
The American guns kept up a hot fire on Reidesel's
force and upon Mount Hope, but without any appre-
ciable results. St. Clair testified at a later date that he
had no definite knowledge of the strength of the enemy
until July 3, when he obtained information from a pris-
oner and some deserters. This was confirmed by a spy,
who was sent into Burgoyne's camp July 3 and returned
July 5. He also learned that plans had been made for
a regular siege. This information, St. Clair said, con-
vinced him of the hopelessness of efTectually defending
the posts.
Great was the astonishment of the Americans, on the
morning of July 5, to see the summit of Sugar Hill red
with British soldiers. St. Clair harbored no delusions
regarding the occupation of that lofty eminence. He
knew that the fate of his army was sealed if he remained
at Ticonderoga. A council of war was called, those
present being Gens. Arthur St. Clair, Roche de Fermoy,
Enoch Poor and John Patterson and Col. Pierse Long.
General St. Clair reported that his force consisted of
two thousand and eighty-nine efTective soldiers, rank and
file, including one hundred and twenty- four unarmed
artificers, besides the corps of artillery, and about nine
hundred militia, which had arrived and could remain
only a few days. It was shown that the works were
nearly surrounded. If the enemy should gain posses-
sion of the neck of land between the lake and East Creek,
not more than three-quarters of a mile wide, and the
narrows between that point and Skenesborough, all com-
munication would be cut off. The possibility of remov-
60 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ing the tents to lower ground, where they would be less
exposed, and of transferring the entire garrison to
Mount Independence, was discussed.
The council decided that under the circumstances it
would be impossible with such a meagre force, and with
the enemy occupying Mount Defiance, to defend Ticon-
deroga and Mount Independence, that a retreat should
be undertaken as soon as possible and that the officers
might consider themselves very fortunate if such a re-
treat could be effected. News had been received that
the place would be completely invested within twenty-
four hours and that the narrow neck had been left open,
hoping to intercept the cattle intended for the Ameri-
cans. This decision was reached about three o'clock
Saturday afternoon, July 5, but it was impracticable with
the enemy occupying a height from which every move
in the American camp could be observed, to begin a
retreat until evening.
St. Clair was not ignorant of the effect of the aban-
donment of Ticonderoga upon public opinion, but ac-
cording to Colonel Wilkinson's statement he informed
that officer that he was unwilling to sacrifice the army
in order to save his own character.
The water route to Skenesborough was still open, and
supposed to be safe, owing to the boom and great chain
across the lake, which obstructed navigation. About
midnight orders were issued to place the sick, the
wounded, and the women on board two hundred long
boats. Cannon, provision, and tents were placed in
other boats, and about three o'clock on the morning of
July 6, convoyed by five armed galleys, all that was
left of Arnold's fleet, and accompanied by a guard of
i»^" -r'>
O
BURGOYNE'S INVASION 61
six hundred men commanded by Captain Long, of New
Hampshire, the flotilla started for Skenesborough. The
moon shone brightly as the boats left Ticonderoga, and
later the sun rose upon a beautiful day. Little appre-
hension was felt, as pursuit w^as supposed to be prac-
tically impossible. Although the army was retreating,
the progress of this portion of the forces was not a
doleful one, the music of drum and fife enlivening the
occasion. Dr. James Thacher, a surgeon, who was on
board one of the ships, in his journal describes this voy-
age, saying: "Among the hospital stores, we found
many dozen of choice wine, and breaking oflF their necks
we cheered our hearts with the nectareous contents."
Skenesborough was reached at three o'clock in the
afternoon, and in less than two hours the Americans
were startled by the sound of British guns firing upon
the galleys at the wharf. The bridge, boom and chain,
erected at such great expense of time and money, had
delayed the enemy only a few hours. The Royal George,
the 1 11 flexible, and a number of gunboats under Captain
Carter, had pursued in haste, Burgoyne accompanying
the expedition, and had almost overtaken the American
fleet. Three regiments, the Ninth, Twentieth and
Twenty-first, were disembarked at the head of South
Bay to occupy the road to Fort Edward.
The American officers attempted to rally their men,
but this was found impossible. More than "the nectare-
ous contents" of the hospital stores was needed now to
cheer the hearts of the soldiers. A panic prevailed and
at first the troops fled in all directions, each man seeking
his own personal safety.
62 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Two war galleys surrendered and the other three
were blown up by their own crews. The long boats and
other craft were either sunk, burned or captured. Be-
fore retiring, the defeated forces set fire to the store-
house, sawmills, forges and repairing sheds. The dry
trees caught fire, and the w^hole hillside was soon ablaze.
General Schuyler was informed later that ''not one
earthly thing was saved." The British captured about
thirty prisoners, including two wounded officers.
The Americans retired in confusion through a narrow
defile in the woods to Fort Ann. So closely were they
pursued that the cry frequently would go up from the
rear : "March on, the Indians are at our heels." Many
of the invalids were taken up Wood Creek in boats, and
some of the baggage was saved in this way; but all of
the cannon and provisions, most of the baggage, and
some of the sick fell into the hands of the victors.
A small force, sent out by Schuyler from Fort Ed-
ward, reached Fort Ann on July 7. A British detach-
ment approaching the same day was attacked by the
Americans and defeated a surgeon, a Captain who was
wounded, and twelve privates being taken prisoners.
The next day Fort Ann was burned, and the garrison
retired to General Schuyler's camp at Fort Edward.
Chapter XVIII
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON
SHORTLY after midnight, on the morning of July
6, 1777, the American garrison at Ticonderoga
crossed the bridge to Mount Independence, on the
Vermont shore of Lake Champlain, where General St.
Clair had hoped, if hard pressed, to make his last stand
for the defence of this important post; but his earlier
plans did not take into account the possibilities of Brit-
ish cannon mounted on Mount Defiance, six hundred
feet in height. To remain meant either surrender, or
the sacrifice of many lives with no possibility of win-
ning a victory, or even of holding Ticonderoga. At
this juncture St. Clair's only hope was to escape from
the net slowly but surely being drawn around him.
After the troops had crossed, the bridge was destroyed,
many of the cannon having been spiked.
When St. Clair reached Mount Independence he found
General Roche de Fermoy asleep, instead of superintend-
ing the evacuation of that portion of the works, the
task entrusted to him. With the approach of dawn the
movements here of necessity were hurried. De Fermoy,
contrary to express orders, set fire to his house as he
was leaving about two o'clock in the morning, and the
illumination helped to give warning of the retreat.
Smith, in "The St. Clair Papers," says of the French
officer that he was one of the worst of the foreign ad-
venturers connected with the American army.
To Col. Ebenezer Francis, commanding the Eleventh
Massachusetts regiment, was entrusted the command of
the American rear guard, made up of "chosen men,"
to quote from Burgoyne. He was a good disciplinarian,
a man of imposing stature, who had commanded a regi-
ment on Dorchester Heights earlier in the war.
66 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Just as the rear of the American army left Mount
Independence, about four o'clock in the morning, the
advance guard of the enemy arrived, composed of Bruns-
wick troops. A few shots were exchanged, but the
German soldiers did not attempt pursuit. St. Clair
made a forced march over an unfinished road through
the wilderness, twenty-four miles, to Hubbardton, which
he reached at one o'clock Sunday afternoon. The re-
treat began in great confusion. On the way, St. Clair
encountered and dispersed a British raiding party under
Captain Fraser, taking three British and five Canadian
prisoners and twenty head of cattle.
In the confusion of departure two artillerymen de-
serted, taking a small boat and crossing the lake. About
three o'clock that morning they notified General Fraser
that the American army was retreating. At first Fraser
thought this was a ruse employed to bring British troops
within range of the American guns, but he sent an
officer to notify General Burgoyne, who was on board
the Royal George, of the report received; and ordered
the men of his own brigade, without noise or delay, to
equip themselves and proceed to a designated place, there
to await further orders. Taking an engineer and a
small party, Fraser proceeded to investigate the report
of the deserters, and found it to be true. The colors
of the Ninth regiment were planted on the old French
redoubt, and a guard was posted to watch the stores
abandoned at Ticonderoga.
Planks were secured and a bridge was extemporized,
enabling Fraser to reach Mount Independence. Evi-
dently the British General had a very unpleasant ex-
perience in restraining the desire of the soldiers to ap-
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 67
propriate what the Americans had abandoned in their
hasty flight, and he says of the episode: "As there
were many to plunder, it was with very great difficulty
I could prevent horrid irregularities." Everything was
"tolerably well secured" about five o'clock, the delay
caused by the desire for plunder having given St, Clair's
fleeing troops an opportunity to gain a lead that their
pursuers could not overcome. Eraser then formed a
detachment of the grenadiers and light infantry bat-
talions with two companies of the Twenty-fourth regi-
ment, and he started in pursuit of the Americans, leav-
ing an officer to notify Burgoyne that he desired the
support of the remainder of his corps, and other troops.
He did not stop to take any provisions, and pressed on
for nine miles before any water w^as found. Pausing
here to allow the soldiers to rest and refresh themselves,
he ordered Colonel Campbell of the Twenty-ninth regi-
ment to return to headquarters and notify General Bur-
goyne that he believed he was near the rear guard of
the rebels, and that he desired to be supported by troops,
"British if possible." This is only one of several occa-
sions on which General Eraser exhibited his belief in
the superiority of British over German troops.
After marching four miles farther, Eraser halted to
permit the killing of two bullocks, thus providing food
which greatly refreshed the hungry men. An Ameri-
can prisoner informed Eraser that Colonel Erancis,
commanding the rear guard of the retreating army,
would be glad to surrender to the King's troops, rather
than to fall into the hands of the savages. As the Brit-
ish soldiers w^ere much fatigued, no fleet-footed carrier
was available to bear a message, and the prisoner was
68 HISTORY OF VERMONT
sent ahead to overtake Colonel Francis, and give him
an opportunity to avail himself of British protection;
but the only notice Francis took of the offer was to
double his diligence in putting a greater distance be-
tween Fraser and himself.
It was an unusually trying occasion, both for pur-
suers and pursued. This midsummer Sabbath was a
sultry day, like several that had preceded it. The road
was rough, and the hills were many and steep. If any
breeze were blowing it could hardly penetrate into this
forest-clad region and the July sun poured down fiercely,
making this wilderness trail a veritable furnace.
Before leaving for Skenesborough, in pursuit of
Colonel Long, Burgoyne ordered General Reidesel to
support Fraser. The Sixty-second British regiment
and the Brunswick regiment of Prince Frederick were
stationed, respectively, at Ticonderoga and Mount Inde-
pendence, to take the place of the guards posted by Gen-
eral Fraser. Taking a company of light infantry and
an advance guard of eighty men from Breymann's
corps, and leaving orders for the remainder of the corps
and his own regiment to follow immediately, Reidesel
hastened on and overtook Fraser's detachment, while its
numbers were feasting on the bullocks which they had
slaughtered. The British General, who was only a
Brigadier, was embarrassed by the presence of a senior
officer, who was a Major General. After agreeing to
renew the pursuit at three o'clock the following morn-
ing, Fraser moved on three miles farther, where his
troops lay on their arms, leaving Reidesel in the camp
evacuated by the British troops. Naturally the German
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 69
troops were much fatigued. It has been said that the
sword of one of Reidesel's dragoons weighed as much as
the entire equipment of a British soldier. Stone's "Bur-
goyne's Campaign" describes the equipment of a Bruns-
wick dragoon as follows: "He wore high and heavy
jackboots, with large, long spurs, stout and stiff leather
breeches, gauntlets reaching high up on his arms, and a
hat with a high tuft of ornamental feathers. On his
side he trailed a tremendous broadsword; a short but
clumsy carbine was slung over his shoulder, and down
his back, like a Chinese mandarin, dangled a long queue."
If Reidesel's troops were thus equipped on this July Sun-
day, it may be imagined that a march thirteen or four-
teen miles over such a road was a test sufficient to satisfy
their ambitions for one day's march.
General St. Clair, having arrived at Hubbardton,
after passing through Orwell and Sudbury, waited from
one until five o'clock Sunday afternoon for the strag-
glers and the rear guard to come up. At that time
Major Dearborn of the rear guard (afterward a Major
General and Secretary of War) brought the news that
the remainder of the army was approaching, and St.
Clair proceeded six miles farther, to Castleton, arriving
there about dusk. The regiments of Colonels Warner,
Francis and Hale, about thirteen hundred men in all,
were left as a rear guard, under command of Col. Seth
Warner. Owing to the extreme fatigue of the men it
was decided to remain at Hubbardton. It was claimed
afterward by General St. Clair and Colonel Wilkinson
that Warner disobeyed orders in remaining there, hav-
ing been directed to advance to a point within one and
70 HISTORY OF VERMONT
one-half miles of the main body. On the other hand,
Daniel Chipman, a lad of twelve years at the time of this
episode, who in later years enjoyed the personal
acquaintance of many veterans of the Revolutionary
War, in his "Memoirs of Warner," stoutly maintained
that the Vermont Colonel was ordered to remain at Hub-
bardton, and that St. Clair erred in going six instead of
one and one-half miles beyond the camp of his rear
guard.
Warner's encampment was on the farm of John Sel-
leck, in the southeastern part of the town of Hubbard-
ton, near the Pittsford line. This is an upland region,
affording a beautiful outlook, a rolling table-land, sur-
rounded on the south and east by hills. A road, follow-
ing a little stream, led to Ticonderoga, over which route
the American troops had retreated, and another led
toward Castleton.
Earlier on the eventful Sunday, before St. Clair's
army had reached Hubbardton, while religious worship
was being conducted in the house of George Foote,
about half a mile east of the present site of Castleton
village, on the road to Hubbardton, an alarm was given
that the enemy was approaching, and the women and
children took refuge in the cellar. Some American re-
cruits who had assembled about two miles beyond the
place, hastened back and sought shelter in the Foote
house and in a school house across the road.
The attacking party consisted of a scouting expedi-
tion, made up of British, Tories and Indians, and it is
asserted that they largely outnumbered the Americans.
The best information available indicates that Capt. Jus-
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 71
tus Sherwood, a prominent Tory leader, commanded the
party. In the skirmish that followed Capt. John Hall
of Castleton was shot in the leg. He called for water
and as his wife was bringing it to him the receptacle
which she carried was kicked from her hands by a Tory.
Captain Hall died as a result of his wounds. A British
infantry soldier was shot through the body, but recov-
ered, after being cared for by Mrs. Hall, who returned
good for evil. Captain Williams was killed and one of
his sons was wounded, but succeeded in reaching Rut-
land, nearly exhausted for want of food.
The body of Captain Williams was wrapped in a
blanket and buried at the foot of a tree. Forty- four
years later it was exhumed and buried in the cemetery
with appropriate exercises. Several prisoners were
captured by Sherwood and taken to Ticonderoga.
General Fraser, in accordance with his plans, re-
sumed his march at three o'clock Monday morning, July
7. After marching a mile he left an officer at some
cleared ground with directions for General Reidesel, and
moved forward two miles farther, where the advance
guard of the British troops encountered the American
sentries, who fired and retreated to the main body. The
advance guard was led by Major Grant of the Twenty-
fourth regiment, a close friend of General Fraser. As
the guard approached the American pickets. Grant
mounted a stump to reconnoiter, and he had hardly
given the order to fire when he was struck and instantly
killed by the bullet of an American rifleman.
Colonel Wilkinson, St. Clair's adjutant, afterward an
army officer of high rank, and connected with Aaron
72 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Burr's intrigues, was told later by the Earl of Balcarras,
who participated that day in his first battle, that at the
first fire when Major Grant was killed, twenty-one men
in the leading British platoon were brought down. The
Earl himself was slightly wounded in the left thigh, and
during the battle thirteen bullets passed through his
clothing.
There is a discrepancy in regard to the hour when the
battle of Hubbardton began, some of the authorities
giving five and some seven o'clock in the morning. The
account of the battle given in "Hemenway's Gazetteer"
declares that "at an early hour the belligerents drew up
their forces in line of battle but did not presently en-
gage, as each awaited the arrival of reinforcements."
According to this theory it would be possible to explain
an early attack of the advance guard at five o'clock,
when, it is said the troops under Warner were surprised
in the act of getting breakfast, and at which time Major
Grant, leading the British vanguard, was slain. Fraser
was expecting Reidesel's reinforcements, and very
likely Warner sent in haste to St. Clair for aid, or ex-
pected aid when the sound of firing was heard in St.
Clair's camp. General Eraser's account of the battle,
however, would indicate that he became involved in
battle sooner than he intended, and did not have time to
make the disposition of his troops that he desired.
British and American accounts of the engagement dififer
widely. Although there is a conflict of opinion concern-
ing details, certain important facts may be gleaned from
the various accounts of the battle. Apparently the
Americans, following a custom learned in Indian war-
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 73
fare, had protected their camp by felHng trees and brush-
wood. When Eraser's troops rushed forward to the
attack, they became entangled in the rude defence, thus
giving Warner and P'rancis time to rally their men, who
sought shelter behind trees and thickets, and fired upon
their foes. The lines of battle were formed within sixty
yards of each other.
Early in the battle there was a contest for a steep
hill on Eraser's left flank. The British made a dash for
the height, accompanied by their commander, and meet-
ing a body of Americans compelled them to retire to the
position they held when first attacked.
Eor two hours the tide of battle ebbed and flowed, in-
cluding musketry fire, charge and counter-charge.
Warner made an impetuous attack upon the enemy,
breaking their line and compelling them to fall back.
The British lines were soon reformed, and advanced in
an effort to drive the Americans at the point of the
bayonet. Again they were driven back in disorder.
General Reidesel had started at three o'clock in the
morning, and after marching four miles met Captain
McKay, who notified him of Eraser's movements. The
German troops had not advanced far before the sound
of musketry firing was heard, and Reidesel sent Captain
Poellnitz back with orders to tell Lieutenant Colonel
Breymann to press forward with all possible speed. A
second messenger soon arrived from Eraser with a re-
port that the enemy were in such force that he could
not withstand them unless speedily reinforced. Hasten-
ing forward Reidesel cursed and raged at the delay of
his slow moving troops. The morning sun poured down
74 HISTORY OF VERMONT
its rays with great intensity and Reidesel's report says
his troops were "terribly heated" when they reached the
battle field. From an eminence the German commander
saw that the Americans were trying to surround Fraser's
left wing, and he ordered a company of light infantry
led by Captain VanGeyso to attack Warner's right wing,
while the grenadiers under Captain Schottelins were to
endeavor to fall upon the rear of the American position.
Only a portion of the German troops had arrived with
Reidesel, the chasseurs under Major Barnes and eighty
grenadiers and light infantry, and in order to create the
impression that a large body of troops had arrived he
directed a band of music to lead, and the detachment ad-
vanced with a great noise, shouting, firing, and chanting
of battle hymns.
Meanwhile Colonel Francis had led a third attack on
the enemy's left wing. In his "History of Vermont,"
Ira Allen says that Francis ordered a retreat of a part
of his regiment in order to take a more advantageous
position; that his orders were misunderstood, and the
retreat became general; and that while endeavoring to
check this retreat and confusion. Colonel Francis was
killed. Earlier in the action he had been wounded by
a bullet, which passed through the right arm, and while
engaged in a contest with the German troops, a ball en-
tered the right breast and passed through his body, kill-
ing him almost instantly. This brave soldier was buried
by the Brunswick regiment.
The arrival of the German troops, and the death of
Colonel Francis, turned the scale. The Americans gave
way, and fled in confusion. Colonel Warner was a man
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 75
who seldom yielded to anger, but when he saw his regi-
ment retreating he threw himself down on a log and
"poured forth a torrent of curses and execrations on the
flying troops." Recovering his self possession in a
moment, he ordered his men to assemble at Manchester,
and they scattered in all directions. The grenadiers had
taken possession of the Castleton road, cutting off the
American retreat in that direction. An attempt was
also made to retreat in the direction of Pittsford, over
a steep mountain, but again the grenadiers reached the
summit of the mountain in advance of the Americans.
The battle is said to have lasted about three hours.
At the opening of the engagement Col. Nathan Hale
(not the officer bearing a similar name executed by the
British as a spy) of the Second New Hampshire Conti-
nental regiment, left the scene of action and marched
toward Castleton, reducing Warner's force from nearly
twelve hundred to some seven hundred or eight hun-
dred men. It should be said in Hale's defence that his
regiment was largely composed of invalids. He had not
retreated far before he was attacked by a British de-
tachment, and in the engagement Maj. Benjamin Tit-
comb was severely wounded, and Colonel Hale, Captains
Robertson, Carr and Norris, Adjutant Elliot, two other
officers and about one hundred men were taken prison-
ers. Colonel Hale was severely censured and while a
prisoner appealed to General Washington for an investi-
gation of his conduct, but he died September 23, 1780,
while a prisoner on Long Island.
When St. Clair heard the sound of musketry firing,
his first thought was to send reinforcements to Warner.
76 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Two militia regiments, which had left the main army the
night before the battle, were encamped within two miles
of Warner's position. Two of St. Clair's aides, Majors
Dunn and Livingston, were hurried off with assurances
of support, and orders were given to the regiments men-
tioned to support Warner. Instead of supporting their
hard pressed commander they hurried from the scene,
making haste to rejoin the main army. Colonel Wilkin-
son says these regiments "were exceedingly insubordi-
nate and seditious," and St. Clair, in a letter to Governor
Bowdoin of Massachusetts, gives the names of their
commanders as Colonels Bellows and Alcott (Olcott),
adding that "had they obeyed my orders it is probable
the enemy might have been repulsed." Majors Dunn
and Livingston, who met the cowardly militia, reported
them "equally deaf to commands and entreaties."
Naturally, there is some discrepancy in the British
and American accounts of the losses in the battle of
Hubbardton. Gordon, who secured his information
from the journal of a British officer, afterward captured,
says the Americans lost three hundred and twenty-four
in killed, wounded and prisoners, the prisoners including
twelve officers; while the British lost one hundred and
eighty-three in killed and wounded, three officers being
killed, and twelve wounded. Williams, the earliest Ver-
mont historian, uses Gordon's figures of the losses at
Hubbardton. General Fraser, the commander of the
royal forces in this battle, has left on record the fact
that he had at Hubbardton the day after the battle, one
hundred and fifty wounded and two hundred and thirty
prisoners. Considering the fierceness of the engage-
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 77
ment, this would indicate that one hundred and eighty-
three was rather a low estimate of the British losses,
including both dead and wounded. The Earl of Bal-
carras, testifying before the House of Commons, with-
out remembering exactly, thought about one hundred
and fifty of Eraser's corps were killed and wounded at
Hubbardton. This estimate does not include the Ger-
man losses. In writing to Washington, July 17, St.
Clair fixed Warner's loss at Hubbardton at about fifty
killed and wounded. Adding to this number the two
hundred and thirty prisoners which Eraser claimed,
would give an American loss of two hundred and eighty.
Warner's force was so completely scattered that an
accurate estimate of his losses is difficult. It has been
stated that many of the wounded perished miserably in
the woods, and such losses naturally would not be in-
cluded fully in estimates made immediately after the
battle. It is probable, judging from the most reliable
information to be obtained, that the British lost in killed
and wounded approximately two hundred men, while
the Americans lost more than three hundred in killed,
wounded and prisoners. The prisoners included a por-
tion of Colonel Hale's regiment and a considerable num-
ber of stragglers picked up on the march from Ticon-
deroga. Eliminating the American prisoners from the
list of losses, the figures would indicate that the British
suffered more heavily in killed and wounded than did
the Americans.
A few local incidents of the battle are worthy of
preservation. The population of Hubbardton at this
time consisted of nine families, occupying as many log
78 HISTORY OF VERMONT
houses, all of them being located in the portion of the
town in which the engagement was fought. On the day
preceding the battle, Sunday, July 6, the same detach-
ment of British Tories and Indians commanded by Cap-
tain Sherwood, that engaged in a skirmish in Castleton,
appeared in Hubbardton, and made prisoners of Benja-
min and Uriah Hickok, Henry Keeler and Elijah
Kellogg. Benjamin Hickok managed to escape, and re-
turning home he conducted his own and his brother
Uriah's families to Castleton.
On the morning of the battle Colonel Warner warned
the family of Samuel Churchill of the danger that
threatened them. This family consisted of Mr. and
Mrs. Samuel Churchill, their sons, John and Silas, each
of the sons being married, and having children. The
w^omen and children were placed on three horses and
started for a place of safety, accompanied by the men on
foot, but they had proceeded only a little way, when the
battle opened and they found themselves in the firing
zone. Two of the horses on which the women rode were
wounded. When Madam Churchill, an elderly w^oman,
saw that her horse had been shot, she sprang to the
ground in great excitement, exclaiming: "I wish I had
a gun, I would give them what they want." The sons
remained to take part in the battle, while Samuel
Churchill and the women and children returned to their
home. Silas was taken prisoner, but John returned
home. On the way he laid his gun, cartridge box and
bayonet in a crevice in the rocks, but never was able to
locate the place thereafter. More than sixty years later
the weapons were found.
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 79
Soon after the battle Captain Sherwood and his de-
tachment appeared on the scene, made prisoners of the
family, plundered the house, and threatened to burn it,
but yielded to the pleadings of the women that it should
not be destroyed. Samuel Churchill was taken some dis-
tance from the house by Indians, bound to a tree, dry
brush piled around him, and threatened with burning
alive if he did not tell where his flour was concealed.
After threatening him for three or four hours, the
savages were preparing to set fire to the brush, when
Sherwood appeared and gave orders that the torture
should cease. Mr. Churchill, his two sons, and three
other residents of Hubbardton were taken to Ticon-
deroga as prisoners.
The women and children were left in a destitute con-
dition and were compelled to seek relief and safety else-
where. In this emergency Grandmother Churchill, a
sturdy and forceful woman, took command. The party
consisted of four women, one boy of thirteen and one
of eleven years, one small child three years old, and a
babe only a few months old. It was determined that
they should return to their old home in Sheffield, Mass.
Not daring to take the direct route, on account of the
presence of British troops to the south, with two horses
they proceeded to Pitts ford, thence to Rutland and
across the Green Mountains by the Military Road to
Number Four, camping one night in the woods on a
mountain, and staying two nights at Captain Coffein's
at Cavendish. Going down the Connecticut River, they
arrived at their destination in about three weeks.
80 HISTORY OF VERMONT
One of the Churchills and one of the Hickoks escaped
from Ticonderoga. Hickok found his family at Castle-
ton, but Churchill was unable to locate his family and
went on foot to his old home at Sheffield, Mass., where
he found them.
John Selleck, on whose farm the battle was fought,
with his family left their home the day before the en-
gagement; but a Mrs. Boardman and two small chil-
dren were left in the house, and remained there during
the battle, taking refuge under the bed, as there was
no cellar. After the firing ceased this woman went to
Castleton on foot with her children.
In the spring of 1784 the people of Hubbardton made
a general search of the battle ground and the adjoining
forest region, and gathering a large number of the bones
of those who had perished, and had not been interred,
they buried them. On the eighty-second anniversary of
the battle, July 7, 1859, a monument was dedicated on the
battle field.
St. Clair had left orders at Castleton for Warner's
troops to join him at Rutland, and his correspondence
with Hancock and Washington shows that about two
hundred of the men who fought at Hubbardton did join
his force there, and that two days later Colonel Warner,
with about ninety men, joined him at Manchester.
Others came straggling in for days thereafter. St. Clair
was of the opinion that some of the men who fought
under Warner at Hubbardton had "gone down into New
England by way of Number Four," without asking per-
mission.
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 81
Before St. Clair left Castleton, an officer from one of
the boats that left Ticonderoga with Colonel Long's
party of Americans, arrived, bringing the news that the
British were pursuing in force and that they would reach
Skenesborough ahead of him. This compelled him to
change his route, and marching by way of Pawlet, Dor-
set, Manchester and Bennington, he reached the Hudson
River at Battenkill, and joined General Schuyler at Fort
Edward on July 12.
St. Clair's retreat was a difficult one. The night fol-
lowing the battle of Hubbardton was rainy and very
dark, and travel through a wooded country, unfamiliar
to most if not all of St. Clair's troops, was beset with
difficulties and dangers. During the night a guard
brought in a young man, suspected of being a spy, who
claimed to be familiar with the region, and able to guide
the army to Bennington. Colonel Wilkinson recognized
the young man as Lieut. Matthew Lyon, who had served
under Warner in the battle of Hubbardton. His serv-
ices were gladly accepted and proved to be of much value.
As a reward for his efforts, Lyon, who had been cen-
sured for his part in the retreat from Jericho the pre-
vious year, was appointed a Continental Paymaster, with
the rank of Captain.
Immediately following the battle of Hubbardton, Gen-
eral Reidesel stationed Barner's light infantry on the
left wing of the English troops, while Reidesel's own
regiment, and the battalion of grenadiers were posted on
the right wing of the English forces, to guard the
Skenesborough road. That night the British troops lay
on their arms. The next morning Reidesel astonished
82 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Fraser by announcing his determination to march to
Skenesborough, and before noon his brigade had started,
greatly to Fraser's disgust, who intimated that the Ger-
man troops marched toward Skenesborough at a pace
"rather more rapid" than that with which they moved to
his support from Ticonderoga. Fraser was very much
alarmed at his situation. He was short of ammunition
and provisions, encumbered with prisoners and wounded,
and in an unfamiliar and heavily wooded country, with
a force not to exceed eight hundred and fifty men,
according to the report of the British commander. He
set the prisoners at work constructing a log defence for
his troops, fearing an attack. His fears were height-
ened that evening, July 8, by receiving intelligence that
the Americans were in force near him and w ere gathering
strength hourly. Commenting on this situation, he wrote :
*'I was then in the most disaffected part of America,
every person a spy," a high compliment, surely, to the
loyalty of Vermonters to the American cause.
Fraser was determined to take no chances of being
captured by the "disaffected" inhabitants of the New
Hampshire Grants. At two o'clock on the morning of
July 9, he started his prisoners for Ticonderoga, under
the escort of two companies of grenadiers, and with
most of his troops set out for Burgoyne's camp, and
safety. The one hundred and fifty wounded were left
with surgeons, nurses, and a small guard, which was
ordered to make no resistance if approached by any num-
ber of Americans. Before starting Fraser sent for
guides to conduct him to the place where the Americans
were supposed to be posted. The guides deserted, which
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 83
was what Eraser wanted them to do, and he says the
American force retired ten miles, while he retired to
Skenesborough which he reached in safety the evening
of July 6. The probability is that this supposed Ameri-
can force was largely, if not entirely, a creation of
Eraser's imagination. While he was hastening toward
Burgoyne's camp, following on the heels of Reidesel's
brigade, St. Clair's troops were hastening toward a
place of safety in another direction, and Warner's dis-
organized forces were straggling into the settlements
from the forests.
Considerable difficulty was experienced in removing
the British wounded from Hubbardton on account of
the distance to Burgoyne's headquarters and the condi-
tion of the roads. Preparations were made to remove
them on biers and on hand barrows, but the wounded
preferred to remain where they were rather than suffer
the tortures of being moved in such primitive fashion,
and remain they did, for several days, at least. One of
the gruesome features of war that followed the battle,
as portrayed by a wounded British officer, was the pres-
ence of many wolves who came down from the moun-
tains, attracted by the bodies of the unburied dead, and
those hastily buried in shallow graves did not escape
these scavengers of the forest.
In the account of the battle of Hubbardton in "Hemen-
way's Vermont Gazetteer" is a statement made on the
authority of B. E. Winslow of Pittsford, to the effect
that probably the first use of the American flag in battle
was in the engagement of Hubbardton. He says of this
early flag: "This was a rather primitive material, and
84 HISTORY OF VERMONT
made by the officers at Ticonderoga from their own
clothes, one of them giving a coat for the blue field of
the stars."
In Admiral Preble's "History of the American Flag,"
and elsewhere, it is claimed that the first use of our flag,
known as the Stars and Stripes, in actual warfare, was
its display on the northeast bastion of Fort Stanwix,
August 3, 1777.
A resolution proposed by John Adams, making the
United States flag a banner of thirteen stripes and thir-
teen stars, was adopted by the Continental Congress,
June 14, 1777. The design was not officially promul-
gated until September 3, 1777. The difficulty of estab-
lishing this distinction for the battle in the Vermont
highlands will be recognized; but it is not impossible
that news of the action of Congress may have reached
Ticonderoga before its evacuation, and that a flag was
made, as described. News of the adoption of the Dec-
laration of Independence was celebrated at this post, and
Mount Independence given its name, two weeks after
the adoption of the Declaration. If the news reached
Fort Stanwix before it was announced officially, it may
have been brought in a similar manner to Fort Ticon-
deroga, which, naturally, would be one of the first places
to receive the information, owing to its importance as a
military post. Without making any positive claim that
the American flag as we know it was first used in the
battle of Hubbardton, it is safe to say that such use
was not impossible, and that the statement made is
worthy of consideration.
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 85
The battle of Hubbardton was the most important en-
gagement of the American Revokition fought on Ver-
mont soil, the Bennington battle field having been just
over the present boundary line in New York State.
That it was an American defeat, and a disastrous de-
feat, cannot be questioned, Warner's force being de-
moralized for the time being. Whether Warner or St.
Clair was at fault for the distance that was permitted
to intervene between the rear guard and the main body
of the army, is a question not easily determined at this
time. The pace set by St. Clair in his retreat was ter-
rific. He realized keenly that the odium he must bear
for the evacuation of the post at Ticonderoga was a
heavy burden at best, and that his reputation must suffer
severely. If his forces were captured his cup of bitter-
ness and humiliation would be filled to overflowing,
therefore he made desperate haste to escape from his
pursuers. If he could have turned upon them and de-
feated them in some measure, he would have averted the
storm of criticism certain to follow^ the news of the
abandonment of Ticonderoga.
It was natural that St. Clair and his protege, Colonel
Wilkinson, should feel exasperated over the loss of an
opportunity to win a victory, and should seek to lay the
blame for defeat upon other shoulders. It must be re-
membered that with Warner were a considerable num-
ber of soldiers who were weak or ill, and who must have
been utterly exhausted by the forced march made under
the blazing sun of a sultry July day. St. Clair departed
from Hubbardton before Warner arrived there, and in
his haste to proceed the American commander easily
86 HISTORY OF VERMONT
might have failed to leave explicit instructions regard-
ing the place of his own encampment and that of War-
ner for the night. As events transpired, victory was
won by the British only because Reidesel's reinforce-
ments arrived in the nick of time. If they had been de-
layed a little longer, Fraser would have been defeated,
and defeat in that unsettled coimtry would have meant
disaster. Furthermore, if the two regiments encamped
within two miles of Warner had come to his assistance,
as every instinct of military honor should have com-
pelled them to do, Warner might have won a notable
victory, and possibly might have captured both Fraser's
and Reidesel's troops.
The regiments of Warner and Francis fought with
great bravery, against some of the best trained soldiers
of Europe. This fact may be proved out of the mouths
of their enemies. In the hearing held in the House of
Commons in 1779, to investigate General Burgoyne's
campaign in America, the Earl of Balcarras testified in
regard to the battle of Hubbardton, that "circumstanced
as the enemy was, as an army very hard pressed in their
retreat, they certainly behaved with great gallantry."
The Earl of Harrington, testifying on the same subject,
said: "They (the enemy) behaved in the beginning of
the action with a great deal of spirit."
Although a British victory had been won, neither
Fraser nor Reidesel appeared to be able to get much
satisfaction out of their triumph, until they had emerged
from the wilderness, from which they hastened like chil-
dren afraid of the dark.
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 87
Burgoyne issued a proclamation on July 10, extolling"
the achievements of the British and German troops in
the capture of Ticonderoga and Skenesborough, and the
victory at Hubbardton, and directing that on the follow-
ing Sunday, July 13, there should be divine service in
front of the army; and that at sunset there should be
firing of cannon and small arms at Ticonderoga, Crown
Point, Skenesborough, Castleton, and in Lieutenant
Colonel Breymann's camp in honor of the success
achieved.
Burgoyne was determined to send General Reidesel,
with "a large corps of troops" to the vicinity of Castle-
ton, on a three- fold mission, "to create an alarm towards
the Connecticut River, to give encouragement to the
loyal inhabitants, if any such there were, and to protect
those that were wounded at Huberton or thereabouts,"
to quote from the testimony of Lieutenant Colonel
Kingston, Burgoyne's adjutant and secretary.
On the morning of July 12, Reidesel started with his
own infantry regiment and Breymann's corps. Reid-
esel's regiment went by water through South Bay and
East Creek, as far as the latter stream was navigable,
and landed at the encampment of the Flesse Hanau
regiment, which had preceded them. Breymann's regi-
ment proceeded by land as far as the sawmill near
Castleton, when it encamped for the night, advancing the
next day to Castleton. The following day Reidesel's
regiment advanced to the camp of Brigadier Specht.
General Reidesel's papers show that this march "was
attended with extraordinary difficulties." It was impos-
sible to secure horses, and all the tents and baggage had
88 HISTORY OF VERMONT
to be carried by the soldiers on their backs over "a shock-
ingly bad road."
Anticipating Reidesel's expedition, on July 10 Bur-
goyne had issued the following proclamation :
"To the inhabitants of Castleton, of Hubberton, Rut-
land, Tinmouth, Pawlet, Wells, Granville (N. Y.), with
the neighboring districts ; also the districts bordering on
White Creek, Cambden (Camden), Cambridge (N. Y.),
&c. &c. &c.
"You are hereby directed to send from your several
townships, deputations consisting of ten persons or more
from each township, to meet Colonel Skene at Castleton,
on Wednesday, July 15th, at ten in the morning, who
will have instructions not only to give further encourage-
ment to those who complied with the terms of my late
manifesto, but also to communicate conditions upon
which the persons and properties of the disobedient may
yet be spared.
"This fail not to obey, under pain of military execu-
tion."
General Schuyler issued a counter-proclamation, dated
at his headquarters at Fort Edward, N. Y., July 13,
as follows:
"To the inhabitants of Castle Town, of Hubberton,
Rutland, Tinmouth, Pawlet, Wells, Granville, with the
neighboring districts; also the districts bordering on
White Creek, Cambden, Cambridge, &c., &c.
"Whereas Lieutenant General John Burgoyne, com-
manding an army of the British troops, did, by a writ-
ten paper, by him subscribed, having date at Skenes-
borough House, on the 10th of July, instant, require you
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 89
to send from your several townships, deputations, con-
sisting of ten persons or more from each township, to
meet Colonel Skeene at Castleton on Wednesday, July
15th, at ten in the morning, for sundry purposes in said
paper mentioned, and that you are not to fail in paying
obedience thereto, under pain of military execution:
"Whatever, my countrymen, may be the ostensible
reasons for such meeting, it is evidently intended by the
enemy thus to prevail on you, by threats and promises,
to forsake the cause of your country, to assist them in
forcing slavery on the United States of America, and
under the specious pretext of affording you protection,
to bring on you that misery which their promises of pro-
tection drew on such of the deluded inhabitants of New
Jersey, who were weak enough to confide in them, but
who soon experienced their fallacy by being treated, in-
discriminately with those virtuous citizens who came
forth in defence of their country, with the most wanton
barbarity, and such as hitherto hath not ever disgraced
barbarians.
''They cruelly butchered, without distinction of age
or sex, ravished children from ten to women of eighty
years of age; they burnt, pillaged and destroyed what-
ever came into their power; nor did their edifices, dedi-
cated to the worship of Almighty God, escape their sac-
rilegious fury. Such were the deeds, such they were
incontestibly proved to be, which have marked the
British arms with the most indelible stains.
"But they having, by the blessing of Divine Provi-
dence on our arms, been obliged totally to abandon that
State; they left those that were weak or wicked enough
90 HISTORY OF VERMONT
to take protection under them, to bemoan their credulity,
and to cast themselves on the mercy of their injured
countrymen. Such will be your fate, if you lend a will-
ing ear to their promises, which, I trust, none of you
will do.
"But lest any of you should so far forget the duty you
owe to your country, as to join with, or in any manner
or way assist or give comfort or hold correspondence
with, or take protection from the enemy, be it known to
each and every one of you, the inhabitants of the United
States, that you will be considered and dealt with as
traitors to said States, and that the laws thereof will be
put in execution against every person so offending with
the utmost rigor; and I do hereby strictly enjoin and
command all officers, civil and military, to apprehend all
such oft'enders. And I do further strictly enjoin and
command such of the militia of said townships as have
not yet marched, to do so without delay, to join the army
under my command, or some detachment thereof."
On arriving at the camp of Brigadier Specht, Reidesel
sent out a detachment of troops to collect wagons and
horses. On July 15 Reidesel was ordered to Ticon-
deroga to superintend the removal of some of the ship-
ping to Lake George. The same day he received intel-
ligence (grossly exaggerated) that Colonel Warner had
collected between four thousand and five thousand men
at Manchester, and that he was "using his utmost exer-
tions to rally the militia in the vicinity."
Reidesel later declared that he could take no action
against Warner at this time, as Colonel Skene was
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 91
anxious that he should accompany the latter to Castle-
ton, to make a list of "all the loyal inhabitants."
Reidesel says: "About four hundred inhabitants
from different townships came into Castleton and took
the oath of allegiance in due form, each one receiving
a certificate to that eft'ect. A large number of these
people were not in earnest in taking this oath. They
had only come that they might find out the names of
those who were truly loyal and afterwards betray them.
They went, therefore, immediately back to their com-
rades, and told them all they had seen and heard. No
sooner had Colonel Warner heard the report of those
spies than he at once advanced, plundered the Loyal-
ists, took away their cattle, and even carried oft* the
men themselves."
Reidesel immediately dispatched Captain Willoe to
Burgoyne's headquarters with a plan in which he pur-
posed to attack "the traitors" at once, and take from
them the cattle and wagons necessary for the use of the
troops. Burgoyne, however, had other plans, a fact
which seems to have disgusted the German commander.
It is very plain that the American officers did not con-
sider those who took the oath of allegiance administered
by Reidesel and Skene as American spies. Chipman, in
his "Memoirs of Warner," says of this period that "a
great majority of the inhabitants (of what later became
Rutland county) were so shocked and discouraged by
the unexpected, and, as they believed, treacherous evacua-
tion of Ticonderoga, that they were thrown into a state
of despondency, and believing the country must be con-
quered, each sought his individual safety, remaining on
92 HISTORY OF VERMONT
his farm and seeking protection from the British. By
these inhabitants, Protectioners, as they were called, the
British troops were supplied with large quantities of
fresh provisions."
In writing to the New Hampshire authorities, Colonel
Warner said: "Many of the inhabitants north of this
place have fled and left all in the hands of the enemy,
and many more have taken protections of the British,
and remain on their farms, and should the enemy march
this way with any considerable force, many more will
submit, and what will be the consequence cannot be fore-
seen." Schuyler wrote to Washington that he was in-
formed that "a very great proportion" of the inhabitants
of the New Hampshire grants were taking protection
from General Burgoyne.
Schuyler, on July 15, directed Warner to secure all
the wagons and cattle he could obtain, to keep them from
falling into the hands of the enemy, adding: "Advance
as near the enemy as you possibly can, seize all Tories,
and send them to the interior of the country." Warner
carried out these orders and large droves of cattle were
brought into Bennington and sold under the direction of
the Council of Safety, which was in session at Benning-
ton almost continuously during the summer of 1777.
Many of those who had taken the oath of allegiance to
the King of England were brought before the Council
of Safety, "all of whom," to quote Chipman, "declared
that they took the oath of allegiance to His Majesty by
compulsion, that they did not consider themselves bound
by it, and were ready to take the oath of allegiance to
the United States." After takino- the oath thev were
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 93
discharged, and most of them, says Chipman, fought
bravely in the battle of Bennington.
In order to reconnoiter, Reidesel sent a detachment
of seventy men to Tinmouth, and another to Wells.
The party sent to Wells returned on July 19, bringing
in a few cattle, horses and carts, and reporting that
Colonel Warner had returned to Manchester, and that
the inhabitants who had fallen under suspicion of dis-
loyalty had left their homes. The Tinmouth detach-
ment returned July 20, bringing four prisoners and sixty
head of cattle, and reporting that they had been with-
in a mile and a half of Warner's camp. According to
this report, Warner was so thoroughly alarmed at the
sudden appearance of the German troops that he left
Manchester immediately, and retreated to Arlington.
That Warner should decamp in haste before a detach-
ment of seventy men does not seem altogether probable.
While on this expedition Reidesel made plans for an
expedition in the direction of the Connecticut River,
consisting of five hundred men under Lieutenant
Colonel Baume, the dragoon regiment, the Brunswick
regiment of light infantry, and a detachment of Cana-
dian volunteers, with two cannon. It was hoped that
in this manner enough good horses might be obtained to
permit the mounting of the dragoons, and thirteen hun-
dred additional horses for the transportation of baggage.
When Baume was sent on an expedition, however, it
was primarily on a different errand, although Reidesel's
idea was not entirely discarded.
The capture of Ticonderoga, the British victory at
Hubbardton, the presence of the German troops at
94 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Castleton and vicinity, and the fear that an expedition
was to be sent into the Connecticut valley, combined to
create a widespread feeling of consternation, bordering
on terror in many towns in the eastern part of Vermont,
There was a considerable Tory element in that region,
which openly exulted over the success of the British
arms. It is said that on Sunday morning, July 7, one
of Burgoyne's proclamations was found nailed to the
meeting house door in Newbury. Many of the inhabi-
tants refused to enlist in American regiments, and
openly declared their intention of espousing the British
cause as soon as the army should appear in their vicinity.
In the sparsely settled towns of Straiford and Thetford,
thirty men deserted the American cause on July 21, and
announced their British sympathies, leaving twenty
families owning more than four hundred cattle and
sheep deprived of protection. The people of Lyme,
N. H., however, came to the rescue and took them to a
place of safety.
Mesheck Weare of New Hampshire received a letter
dated July 21, informing him that the main body of
Reidesel's army was at Rutland, and that an advance
party was at White's camp, nine miles farther on the
road to Number Four.
Reidesel withdrew from Vermont about the end of
July, and on August 4, Schuyler declared in a letter that
Burgoyne had withdrawn his troops from Castleton.
Burgoyne, in a short campaign, had captured the
posts of Crown Point, Ticonderoga and Skenesborough,
won the control of Lake Champlain and Lake George,
and taken one hundred and eighty cannon, fifteen thou-
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 95
sand stands of arms, much ammunition, all the Ameri-
can reserve tents, three hundred and forty-nine thou-
sand, seven hundred and sixty pounds of flour, one hun-
dred and forty-three thousand, eight hundred and
thirty pounds of salt meat, many cattle, and the Ameri-
can standard. It appeared to be a notable triumph, and
Burgoyne wrote glowing accounts of his victory to Eng-
land, sending his aide-de-camp. Captain Gardner, as a
special messenger to bear the news to court.
The British ministerial party considered that the war
was over. The betting odds in London shifted from
even money on the recognition of American independ-
ence to odds of five to one against it. The Loyalist
exiles in England were overjoyed. Some immediately
engaged passage for New York. Others chartered an
army transport and made arrangements for the ship-
ment of a cargo of merchandise to sell in America when
the war was ended, an event not far distant, it was sup-
posed.
When the King heard the news of the British victory
on Lake Champlain, he rushed into the Queen's apart-
ments in great delight, exclaiming that he had beaten
all the Americans. Lord George Germaine was directed
to promise Burgoyne the title of Knight Commander of
the Bath, with a lively hope of something more substan-
tial, but these honors were declined with thanks by Lord
Derby, a relative of the American commander, and his
representative in England.
If there was joy in Great Britain over the fall of
Ticonderoga, there was corresponding consternation in
America over what was considered an almost irremedi-
96 HISTORY OF VERMONT
able disaster. "The popular imagination had invested
it (Ticonderoga) with the impregnability of an en-
chanted castle," says John Austin Stevens. "It was the
bursting of a meteor, which by its awful peal shook
every habitation from Maine to Georgia," said President
Timothy Dwight of Yale College. Washington, Hamil-
ton, and other leaders were highly displeased that St.
Clair should have been so easily manoeuvered out of his
position. To such an extent did popular criticism go
that the ridiculous charge was made, and believed by
some, that Generals Schuyler and St. Clair were
traitors, and were paid for their treason by silver bullets
fired into the American camp by Burgoyne's soldiers.
Washington wrote Schuyler, saying: "The evacua-
tion of Ticonderoga and Mount Independence is an event
of chagrin and surprise not apprehended nor within the
compass of my reasoning." It is said that when the
news of St. Clair's retreat from Ticonderoga reached
Albany, the people of that city ran about as if distracted,
and many sent away their goods and furniture.
St. Clair left for Philadelphia on August 31, in
obedience to orders from Congress to report at head-
quarters and await an inquiry into his management of
the campaign at and around Ticonderoga. A commit-
tee, of which John Adams was a member, was appointed
to collect testimony, but it failed to report. There was
so much delay in giving the accused officers a hearing
that Washington wrote to John Hancock, saying that
the course of that body toward St. Clair was looked
upon as "cruel and oppressive." Finally charges of
neglect of duty, cowardice and treachery were brought,
THE BATTLE OF HUBBARDTON 97
and in September, 1778, a court martial was convened,
with General Lincoln as president, which investigated
the matter thoroughly. Generals Schuyler and Poor
testified that ten thousand Continental troops were
needed to defend Ticonderoga and Mount Independence
adequately. The verdict was as follows: "The court,
having duly considered the charges against Major Gen-
eral St. Clair, and the evidence, are unanimously of the
opinion that he is not guilty either of the charges against
him, and do unanimously acquit him of all and every one
of them with the highest honor."
General St. Clair was compelled to bear the blame
which belonged to others. He had arrived at Ticon-
deroga only a little more than three weeks before the
evacuation. He found a garrison consisting of about
one-fifth the number of men needed to defend the ex-
tensive system of fortifications that had been con-
structed, and such a scarcity of provisions, that rein-
forcements could not be fed for many days unless they
brought their provisions with them. Both Congress
and General Gates believed that Burgoyne's movement
was only a feint, and that he would not attack Ticon-
deroga. If the militia had rallied to St. Clair's aid, as
they flocked to the standard of Gates a few months
later, and had furnished the supplies necessary for con-
ducting a campaign, then, perhaps, the fortress that
Ethan Allen captured might have been held by the Amer-
icans. If Trumbull's advice concerning the occupation
of Mount Defiance had been heeded, instead of being de-
rided, then Burgoyne would have found fighting of a
more serious nature than he encountered, but Gates, and
not St. Clair, must bear the blame for failure to appre-
98 HISTORY OF VERMONT
date a situation which the British officers were not slow
to recognize. In his report to Congress concerning the
abandonment of Ticonderoga, St. Clair said: "I may
yet have the satisfaction to experience that, by abandon-
ing a post, I have eventually saved a State."
It may be placing too high a value upon the retreat
to say that its successful accomplishment saved a State,
but at least it saved the nucleus of an army around which
rallied the militia, and made possible the defeat and
capture of Burgoyne's army. Neither Washington nor
Congress realized the weakness of the American garri-
son at Ticonderoga, and surely the American people, and
least of all the settlers on the New Hampshire Grants,
had not suspected that the garrison was so inadequate
that this powerful position must be abandoned without
striking a blow in its defence. The wildest alarm, and
the most intense anger followed this hasty retreat as a
natural consequence, and St. Clair was the individual
held responsible in large measure for the collapse of the
American system of defence in the Champlain valley.
So far as Vermont was concerned, the completion of
the first stage of Burgoyne's campaign found the region
west of the Green Mountains stripped of its defences,
the farms in many of the towns abandoned, three-
quarters of the inhabitants being obliged to leave their
homes, according to Ira Allen, a considerable number
of the people availing themselves of British protection,
while the people east of the Green Mountains were liv-
ing in daily dread of a British invasion down the Con-
necticut valley, and the Tory element was growing
stronger and bolder from week to week. The situation
was one to test the courage of the stoutest hearts.
Chapter XIX
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON
569587A
WHEN General St. Clair left Rutland, on his re-
treat from Ticonderoga, he directed the Ver-
mont militia, which joined him at that place
after the defeat at Hubbardton, to remain there for the
protection of the people until otherwise directed by the
Vermont convention, and notified Jonas Fay of the
Council of Safety, to that efifect.
The Vermont convention at Windsor on July 8, 1777,
appointed Cols. Joseph Marsh, William Williams and
Timothy Brownson, a committee "to procure a sufficient
quantity of arms for this State as the exigency of the
same shall require, drawing them if possible out of some
Continental stores, giving such security for the same in
behalf of this State as their wisdom may direct, and that
they be impowered for the same purpose (if they cannot
be so drawn) to hire not exceeding four thousand pounds,
for which they are to give their obligation in behalf of
the State."
On the same day, July 8, Col. Moses Robinson, Lieut.
Col. Nathaniel Brush, Capt. Elijah Dewey and Deputy
Commissary Joseph Farnsworth, addressed an appeal
to the militia officers and committees of safety in Mass-
achusetts and Connecticut, saying : "The British Army
is advancing into the country, killing, robbing the in-
habitants, driving off their cattle to their own use; our
whole army is in a very broken situation, * * *
unless the enemy be soon stop'd & repuls'd the whole
Country will fall into their hands, which will prove the
ruin of the whole as we have large stores deposited in
this place (Bennington) which we shall of necessity be
obliged to leave to the enemy & retreat down into the
102 HISTORY OF VERMONT
New England States, which will soon reduce the coun-
try to the Cleanness of Teeth." An appeal for troops
followed.
Schuyler wrote to St. Clair, from Fort Edward on
July 8, saying: "I had forgot to give directions about
the security of the people in the Grants. I think it
will be right to have Colonel Warner with regiment
and the militia belonging to the Grants." This infor-
mation was forwarded to Warner by St. Clair.
The Vermont Council of Safety, in session at Man-
chester, on July 11, appHed to the Council of Safety of
New Hampshire for advice and assistance. The appli-
cation made to Governor Trumbull of Connecticut for
arms for the defence of Vermont, was forwarded by
him to the Massachusetts Board of War, his letter stat-
ing that the exposed condition of Connecticut rendered
it impracticable to supply arms as requested. Evidently
Massachusetts heeded the request, for among the early
State papers in the Secretary of State's office, is a re-
ceipt, dated August 20, 1777, for ninety-five pounds,
twelve shillings, furnished Vermont, given by Ira Allen,
Treasurer, "for arms brought from Boston for the use
of the militia." General Schuyler was asked to send
troops and firearms. He had no guns to send, but
enclosed an order for one thousand pounds of powder.
Ira Allen, as secretary of the Council of Safety, on
July 15, sent out from Manchester a circular letter "to
all militia officers whom it may concern," saying: ''This
is the second and perhaps the last express we may be
able to send you from this post. Your immediate assist-
ance is absolutely necessary. A few hundred military
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 103
troops to be joined to our present strength would greatly
add to our present encouragement, as by late informa-
tion we learn that a large scout of the enemy are dis-
posed to take a tour to this post; the inhabitants with
their families cannot be quieted without an assurance of
the arrival of troops directly for their assistance. You
will please to let us know your determination without
delay. The Continental stores at Bennington seem to
be their present aim. You will be supplied with pro-
visions here on your arrival. Pray send all the troops
you can possibly raise; we can repulse them if we have
assistance." This letter indicated good courage on the
part of the Council, and a knowledge of a contemplated
movement upon Bennington at least a month before it
took place.
On the same day, July 15, Ira Allen, on behalf of
the Council of Safety, appealed to the New Hampshire
Council of Safety, in a forceful letter, asking for aid,
and saying in substance : "By the surrender of the fort-
ress of Ticonderoga a communication is opened to the
defenceless inhabitants of the frontiers, who, having
little more in present store than sufficient for the main-
tenance of their respective Families, and not ability
immediately to remove their effects, are therefore in-
duced to accept such Protections as are offered them by
the enemy: by this means those towns who are most
contiguous to them are under necessity of taking such
protection, by which the next town or towns become
equally a frontier as the former towns before such pro-
tection, and unless we can obtain the assistance of our
friends so as to put it immediately in our power to make
104 HISTORY OF VERMONT
a sufficient stand against such strength as they may
send, it appears that it will soon be out of the power of
this State to maintain a frontier. This country, not-
withstanding its infancy, seems as well supplied with
provisions for victualling an army as any country on the
Continent, so that on that account we cannot see why a
stand may not as well be made in this State as in the
State of New Hampshire, and more especially as the
inhabitants are heartily disposed to defend their liber-
ties. * * * Our good disposition to defend our-
selves and make a frontier for your State with our own,
cannot be carried into execution without your assistance.
Should you send immediate assistance we can help you,
and should you neglect till we are put to the necessity
of taking protection, you readily know it is in a moment
out of our power to assist you."
Colonel Warner wrote the New Hampshire Council
on July 18, enclosing an order from General Schuyler,
directing the militia, said to be marching to Schuyler's
aid, to join Warner, saying there was an army of the
enemy three thousand strong at Castleton, that many of
the people had fled, some had taken protection from
the enemy, "and should they march down with any con-
siderable body (which according to the best intelligence
we can get they are now about to do) many more stand
ready to take it likewise." He requested that the militia
be sent speedily, adding: "The confusion, distress and
trouble of our country in this district presses me to urge
the matter."
Warner issued a circular to the Generals of militia
urgently requesting that assistance be forwarded with
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 105
the greatest possible dispatch, as it was expected that
about four thousand of the enemy's troops would
"march down through the New Hampshire Grants" very
soon, and only five hundred troops had been collected at
Manchester to oppose them.
About this time, when the need of protection for Ver-
mont was so great, and the troops for defence were so
few, the Council of Safety gave attention to the need
of raising a larger force. The Council had neither
money nor sources of revenue, and messengers sent out
on special errands received their compensation from in-
dividual members of the Council. A whole day was
spent by the Council in discussing plans for raising
troops and defraying their expenses. Ira Allen, the
youngest member of the Council, insisted that a regiment
must be raised, but a majority of the Council could not
see how more than two companies of sixty men each
could be recruited. Allen was so urgent that Nathan
Clark, one of the older members, presumably with intent
to rebuke the youthful zeal of the member who de-
manded the raising of a full regiment, moved that Ira
Allen "be requested to discover ways and means to raise
and support a regiment, and to make his report at sun
rising on the morrow." The motion was adopted, and
when the Council convened at sunrise, ready, no doubt,
to witness Allen's discomfiture, this young man of
twenty-six years had a plan ready for consideration.
Allen proposed that the Council of Safety should ap-
point commissioners of sequestration, giving to them
authority to seize and sell at public auction the property
of all persons who had joined or should join "the com-
106 HISTORY OF VERMONT
mon enemy," the proceeds to be placed in the hands of
the treasurer of the Council for the payment of the boun-
ties and wages of a regiment to be raised at once for
the defence of the State. The plan was accepted, and
Samuel Herrick of Bennington, who had served as a
Captain at Ethan Allen's capture of Ticonderoga, and at
St. Clair's evacuation of the same post, was elected Lieu-
tenant Colonel commandant of the new regiment, receiv-
ing his commission on July 15. Within fifteen days
after Ira Allen's policy was adopted, the regiment had
been raised and the bounty money had been paid out
of the proceeds of confiscated property. This regiment
was known as Herrick's Rangers. Vermont was the
first State to adopt this policy of sequestering the prop-
erty of persons hostile to the American cause, but be-
fore the war was ended it was generally adopted
throughout the country. As a result of its adoption
Vermont was established on an excellent financial basis.
This incident affords an illustration of the mental keen-
ness and the wonderful resourcefulness that united to
make Ira Allen perhaps the most brilliant statesman of
the remarkable group which made Vermont an independ-
ent State, and for several years maintained that inde-
pendence against great odds.
Burgoyne determined to march to Fort Edward by
way of Fort Ann, instead of returning to Ticonderoga
and proceeding to the Hudson River by way of Lake
George, a route which would have saved many miles
of difficult travel. Most of his artillery and stores were
sent forward by the Lake George route, but he declined
to change his course, being an exceedingly proud man,
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 107
although giving as his reason that to retrace his steps
would discourage his soldiers. It has been intimated
that Colonel Skene was responsible in a measure for the
route taken, as the building of a military road through
his extensive property would have been very beneficial
had the British ultimately won.
The navigation of Wood Creek, a stream emptying
into Lake Champlain at Skenesborough, was obstructed
with huge stones and logs. Trees were felled into the
creek, where, with branches interlocked, they formed
obstacles very difficult to remove. Herrick's Rangers,
recently organized in Vermont, were active in the work.
All the bridges were burned and axemen were sent up
each of the roads from Fort George to Fort Edward,
with orders to make passage for an army as difficult as
possible. Farms along the route were deserted and the
cattle driven off, that they might not furnish sustenance
for the enemy.
Through this wilderness and morass Burgoyne forced
his army, but it took twenty- four days to cover the
twenty-six miles between Lake Champlain and Fort Ed-
ward, so well had Schuyler's men done their work. The
British found it necessary to build forty bridges, one
across a swamp two miles long. With great labor,
Wood Creek was cleared to permit the passage of
bateaux. When Fort Edward was reached at last, on
July 30, Burgoyne's soldiers were exhausted by their
arduous labors — work to which they were not accus-
tomed— performed with the fierce heat of midsummer
pouring down into the forest, and clouds of insects
swarming about them. If such a thing as the poetry of
108 HISTORY OF VERMONT
warfare really exists, it was not discovered in this phase
of Burgoyne's campaign.
The urgent appeals made to New Hampshire by the
Vermont Council of Safety, and by influential citizens
of the new State, were received after the Assembly had
adjourned for the spring session, but a summons to re-
convene brought the members together again on July
17, for a session of three days. The State militia was
formed into two brigades, the command of the first be-
ing given to William Whipple, and of the second to
John Stark. The latter officer had served gallantly in
the French and Indian War with Abercrombie and Lord
Howe, had won distinction in the battle of Bunker Hill,
had served under Washington at Trenton and Princeton
and had returned to New Hampshire on a recruiting
expedition. Learning that Congress had promoted sev-
eral junior officers, and had neglected him, he retired
from the service, feeling that he had been treated un-
justly. Stark's instructions were such that he was not
placed under the control of the Continental officers dur-
ing this campaign, his stipulation that he should be ac-
countable only to the New Hampshire Assembly having
been agreed to when he accepted the command. One-
fourth of Stark's brigade, and three regiments of Wil-
liams' brigade, were ordered to march immediately un-
der Stark's command, "to stop the progress of the enemy
on our western frontiers." The militia officers were
directed to take away arms from all persons who re-
fused to assist in defending the country; and appointed
a day of fasting and prayer, "which was observed with
much solemnity."
THE BATTLE OE BENNINGTON 109
General Stark was ordered to "repair to Charlestown
(Number Four) on Connecticut River, there to consult
with a committee of New Hampshire Grants to act in
conjunction with the troops of that new State, or sep-
arately as it should appear expedient to him; for the
protection of the people and the annoyance of the
enemy."
The promptness of action and patriotic spirit shown
by New Hampshire in this crisis deserves the highest
praise. That spirit is well illustrated in the following
extract from a speech made at the time by Speaker
John Langdon to the New Hampshire Legislature, in
which he said: "I have three thousand dollars in hard
money. I will pledge my plate for three thousand dol-
lars more. I have seventy hogsheads of Tobago rum,
which shall be sold for the most it will bring. These are
at the service of the State. ' If we succeed in defending
our firesides and homes, I may be remunerated; if not,
the property will be of no value to me."
Gen. Benjamin Lincoln of Massachusetts arrived at
Manchester on August 2, as he says in a letter, "to take
the command of the few Continental troops and of the
militia from the Eastern States, collecting and to be
collected at this post," where he found about six hun-
dred militia. It would appear from this statement that
Lincoln expected to take the command which a little
later was assumed by General Stark. Washington had
selected Lincoln for this position largely because of the
opposition that had arisen against General Schuyler.
This New York ofiicer, able and patriotic beyond ques-
tion, did not understand the people of New England,
nor did they understand him. A representative of the
110 HISTORY OF VERMONT
large landholders of New York, aristocratic by associa-
tion and temperament, he was not in sympathy with
many New England ideas and ideals. Although Schuy-
ler, probably, was a better man and a better officer than
General Gates, the Vermonters frankly preferred the
latter, because he listened to them with courtesy and
gave them to understand that he favored them in the
land controversy with New York, while Schuyler was
prejudiced against the men of the New Hampshire
Grants, as an examination of his correspondence will
show.
Lincoln was distressed because the Massachusetts
militia left Vermont almost as soon as Reidesel's troops
withdrew from the vicinity of Castleton, and writing
from Bennington on August 10, he said: "There never
was an opportunity when we could act with so great a
probability of success against them (Burgoyne's army)
as the present, for they have penetrated and are pene-
trating far into the country, and have left a very naked
and uncovered rear; therefore never a greater call for
the exertions of the people."
A few days after Stark had received his orders from
the New Hampshire Assembly, he proceeded to Charles-
town, and as fast as men arrived, he forwarded them
to Colonel Warner at Manchester. Vermont had agreed
to send some person to Charlestown to advise with Stark
relative to the route to be taken and the disposition of
troops, and to furnish them with provisions.
General Stark, who had crossed the Green Mountains
by way of Bromley (now known as Peru, where a
marker has been erected on the site of his camp ground),
arrived at Manchester on August 6, with about eight
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 111
hundred men, at least two hundred and fifty New Hamp-
shire militia having preceded him. Here he met General
Lincoln, who brought a message from General Schuyler,
directing him to join the latter at Stillwater.
Some writers say that Schuyler repeatedly called on
Stark to join him. Williams, in his "History of Ver-
mont," written less than a score of years after this pe-
riod, says that Stark, just before the approach of Baume,
had decided to leave Bennington, meet General Lincoln
"at an appointed place," and they were to join Schuyler.
Stark evidently did not intend to let personal prejudices
govern him, but was governed in the action by military
reasons. A letter from Schuyler to the Massachusetts
Committee of Safety, dated August H, 1777, says that
"happily I have the assurances from General Stark that
he will not hesitate to do what is required." It was
fortunate, indeed, that Stark did not respond to Schuy-
ler's appeals, although apparently he was preparing to
do so.
Leaving Manchester on August 8, Stark arrived at
Bennington the following day, encamping about two
miles west of the meeting house, near Colonel Herrick's
residence, where he remained for five days, consulting
with the Vermont Council of Safety, with Colonel
Warner and other officers, and gaining such information
as could be obtained regarding the enemy.
Vouchers among the early State papers in the Sec-
retary of State's office show that bounties were paid
Vermont soldiers at the time of the battle of Benning-
ton ; that Jonathan Fassett rode express to Boston about
this time to bring arms ; and that a considerable number
112 HISTORY OF VERMONT
of guns were loaned by the Council of Safety to soldiers
just before the battle of Bennington.
When Burgoyne reached Fort Edward he found that
the condition of his transport service was such that it
was with difficulty he could supply his army with pro-
visions from day to day, and there was no prospect that
he would be able, under existing conditions, to estab-
lish a magazine of supplies, a necessary step to take if
a forward movement were to be made. This seemed an
opportune time to advance. The American forces had
been defeated, and to a certain extent demoralized. Lieu-
tenant Colonel St. Leger was beseiging the American
post of Fort Stanwix. All that Burgoyne needed, ap-
parently, to continue his successful campaign was a
greater supply of provisions.
When General Reidesel conducted his operations in
the vicinity of Castleton during the latter part of July,
he conceived the idea of an expedition to march to Man-
chester and thence in the direction of the Connecticut
River for the purpose of securing horses with which to
mount the dragoons, and one thousand three hundred
additional horses to be used for the transportation of
baggage.
Burgoyne decided, however, after having given ap-
proval, apparently, to the plans of the German com-
mander, that other needs of the army were more urgent
than the mounting of the dragoons. An important
depot of supplies had been established at Bennington.
Large numbers of cattle, much corn and flour, and a con-
siderable number of wagons had been assembled here by
the Americans for the use of the Northern army on or
near the spot now marked by the Bennington monu-
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 113
ment; and the information of the British commander
was to the effect that these vakiable stores were guarded
only by miHtia, their numbers fluctuating from day to
day. A British report stated that upwards of two thou-
sand oxen and three hundred horses had been assem-
bled at Bennington. Reidesel had reported that he found
the people in the portion of Vermont which he had trav-
ersed frightened and submissive, some of them apparently
loyal and the remainder in a state of panic, and Bur-
goyne reported that Reidesel had no doubt of the suc-
cess of an expedition into this region. In his "Memoirs,"
however, Reidsel says he called attention to the dangers
of the undertaking, "Bennington being at too great a
distance, and the enemy too near it."
Some idea of the importance of Bennington as a
depot of supplies may be gleaned from official corre-
spondence of the period. Nathan Clark, writing to
James Yancey, Deputy Commissary General, on Octo-
ber 24, 1776, told of the manufacture of one thousand
bushels of wheat into flour, which was to be forwarded
to the army at Ticonderoga. On November 5, 1776,
Commissioner Yancey wrote the Bennington Committee
of Safety that a certain number of men had been dis-
charged to aid in forwarding supplies. He added : "The
particular attention you pay for the welfare of your
country demands its most cordial thanks for the same.
General Gates directs to return you his sincere thanks
for your good attention to the supplies of the army."
In a letter to Lord George Germaine, Burgoyne said
of the plan to surprise Bennington, that "the possession
of the cattle and carriages would certainly have enabled
the army to leave their distant magazines, and to have
114 HISTORY OF VERMONT
acted with energy and dispatch ; success would also have
answered many secondary purposes." In a hearing
before the House of Commons he said: *'Had my in-
telligence been worse founded, I should not have hesi-
tated to try this expedition with such troops, and under
such instructions as I gave to the commanding officer,
for so great a purpose as that of a supply sufficient to
enable the army to follow at the heels of a broken and
disconcerted enemy." Burgoyne further stated that he
had been informed by those whom he supposed to be
in a position to know, that in the vicinity of Bennington
"the friends of the British cause were as five to one,
and that they wanted only the appearance of a protecting
force to show themselves."
The instructions for this expedition were prepared
originally by General Reidesel, and were amended by
General Burgoyne. The object as stated, was "to try
the affections of the country, to disconcert the councils
of the enemy, to mount Reidesel's dragoons, to complete
Peters' corps (of Loyalists), and to obtain large supplies
of cattle, horses and carriages." No tents were to be
taken and the officers were to take only such baggage
as they could carry on their own horses. As originally
drawn, the instructions provided that the expedition was
to proceed from Battenkill to Arlington, and wait there
until joined from the southward by Captain Sherwood's
detachment of Provincials. From Arlington the force
was to proceed to Manchester, securing the pass over the
mountains to Rockingham. At Manchester the Indians
and light troops were to be sent northward, toward Otter
Creek. On their return, if intelligence had been received
that the Americans were not in force in the Connecticut
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 115
valley, the Green Mountains were to be crossed to Rock-
ingham, but great care was to be taken to guard against
a surprise which might cut off the retreat of the troops.
This force was to remain at Rockingham while the In-
dians and light troops were sent up the river, and on
their return, the expedition was to descend the river
as far as Brattleboro, and from that place return was
to be made by the quickest possible march by the great
road to Albany.
All horses suitable for mounting the dragoons, or
transporting baggage, were to be taken, together with
as many saddles and bridles as could be found; also
wagons, draft oxen and cattle fed for slaughter. Milch
cows were to be left for the use of the inhabitants. Re-
ceipts were to be given for property taken from persons
who had complied with the terms of Burgoyne's mani-
festo, but none were to be given "to such as are known
to be acting in the service of the rebels."
It was suggested, in view of the fact that persons
would be with the expedition "perfectly acquainted with
the abilities of the country," that it might be advisable
to tax the several districts with certain proportions of
the supplies and articles desired, with a time limit for
their delivery. If more time should be needed for de-
livery, "hostages of the most respectable people should
be taken, to secure their following you the ensuing day."
All possible means were to be used to prevent plundering.
It was expected that when Captain Sherwood joined the
expedition at Arlington he would drive in a con-
siderable quantity of cattle and horses, and these were
to be sent to the army with a detachment of Peters'
116 HISTORY OF VERMONT
corps as a guard. The horses were to be tied in strings
of ten.
Colonel Skene, a well-known Loyalist, was to accom-
pany the expedition as much as possible to aid in dis-
tinguishing ''the good subjects from the bad." When-
ever a halt was made for a day or two, the camp of
the dragoons was to be entrenched. A detachment of
Captain Fraser's or Peters' corps was to precede and
to follow the dragoons, in order to prevent an ambus-
cade while passing through the woods. The impression
was to be given that this force was the advanced corps
of the army, that it was intended to march to Boston,
and that at Springfield the main army from Albany was
to be joined by troops from Rhode Island. It was ex-
pected that the progress of the whole expedition might
be effected in about a fortnight. It was anticipated that
Warner's corps would retreat; but Baume was in-
structed that if the unexpected happened and the Amer-
icans were able "to collect in great force," he was to
have in mind that his corps was too valuable to permit
any considerable loss to be hazarded. Baume was to
consult with Colonel Skene "upon all matters of intel-
ligence, negotiation wnth the inhabitants, roads and other
means depending upon a knowledge of the country."
The testimony of Lieutenant Colonel Kingston in the
investigation of Burgoyne's campaign showed that Gen-
eral Fraser was opposed to the employment of the Ger-
man troops on this expedition, but he refused, when
urged to do so, to report this opposition to General Bur-
goyne.
The expedition under command of Lieutenant Colo-
nel Baume, to quote from Burgoyne's letter to Lord
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 117
George Germaine, written August 20, 1777, consisted
of "200 dismounted dragoons of the regiment of Reide-
sel, Captain Eraser's marksmen, which were the only
British, all the Canadian volunteers, a party of the Pro-
vincials (Tories), who perfectly knew the country, 100
Indians and two light pieces of cannon; the whole de-
tachment amounted to about 500 men." Several other
statements from British sources fix Baume's strength
at five hundred men, although not a few American writ-
ers have considered this number too low.
Early on the morning of August 12, the expedition
left the British encampment at Fort Miller on the eastern
bank of the Hudson, opposite the heights of Saratoga,
with only such baggage as each soldier could carry con-
veniently on his back, and marched to Battenkill, where
a camp was made for the night. Burgoyne rode up to
give Baume further instructions, and here the expedi-
tion was joined late that night by fifty chasseurs, whom
Burgoyne had sent as reinforcements. The next day,
August 13, the whole British army moved up the river
a few miles, to be ready to act upon news of Baume's
expected success, but as a precaution a corps was posted
at Battenkill. Starting from Battenkill at four o'clock
on the morning of August 13, Baume proceeded as far
as Cambridge, N. Y., arriving there at four o'clock in
the afternoon.
On the way to Cambridge Baume was informed that
at that place forty or fifty Americans had been left to
guard some cattle, and he ordered thirty Provincials
under Captain Sherwood and fifty Indians to hasten
on hoping to surprise them. Five Americans were cap-
tured, also carts, wagons, some cattle and horses. On
118 HISTORY OF VERMONT
the march fifteen Americans were encountered, who
fired upon the advancing party and took to the woods.
This may have been Ebenezer Allen's detachment, for
a record in the early Vermont State papers gives a list
made by Allen of camp utensils "lost at St. Coyx
on my being surprised and being obliged to retreat in
haste by the enemy on the morning of the thirteenth
of August, 1777." One of Sherwood's men was wounded.
According to accounts from British sources, Baume re-
ceived the submission of a considerable number of in-
habitants, but their loyalty afterward was doubted by
Burgoyne and others, who maintained that these men
turned upon the British later after receiving arms. At
this time Baume is said to have spoken in contemptuous
terms of the Americans.
On the morning of August 14, it was Baume's inten-
tion to advance upon Bennington, and long before sun-
rise the corps was ordered to march. No opposition
was encountered until Van Shaick's mill was reached
at Sancoik, where White Creek, a branch of the Wal-
loomsac River, unites with that stream at what is now
known as North Hoosick, N. Y., about four miles from
Bennington.
On the previous day, August 13, General Stark had
heard that a party of Indians was at Cambridge, N. Y.,
and he sent Lieutenant Colonel Gregg with two hundred
men to meet them. Perceiving that the force was too
large to attack, Gregg's detachment fired from the un-
derbrush and departed, having burned the bridge, a feat
accomplished by Eleazer Edgerton of Bennington and
two companies, under fire from the enemy. In the mill,
Baume found and took possession of seventy-eight bar-
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 119
rels of fine flour, one thousand bushels of wheat, twenty
barrels of salt, and pearl ashes and pot ashes said to
have been valued at about one thousand pounds. Five
prisoners taken here informed Baume "that 1,500 to
1,800 men were in Bennington, but are supposed to leave
it on our approach," according to Baume's letter to Bur-
goyne, written on the head of a barrel.
Thus far the expedition had not made rapid time on
the march, but the roads were very bad, and the route
is described by a German officer as "one prodigious for-
est, bottomed in swamps, and morasses (which) covered
the whole face of the country."
Being informed by an express that Gregg had en-
countered the enemy in considerable force. General Stark
sent off messengers to Warner's regiment at Manches-
ter, and to the militia of the vicinity, asking them to join
him with all speed. Then with his own brigade, some
of the militia, and Colonels Warner, Hancock, Williams
and Brush, he hastened to the relief of Gregg, whom
he met about four miles from Bennington, near the town
line, with the enemy in close pursuit within half a mile
of his rear.
When Baume saw that he was opposed by a consider-
able force, he "halted on a very advantageous piece of
ground" to quote from Stark's report, and sent to Bur-
goyne for aid. Stark drew up his force in order of bat-
tle on an eminence in full view of the enemy, but could
not tempt them to engage in battle. He then fell back
toward his base, perhaps a mile, and encamped about
four miles northwest of Bennington, sending out a small
party of skirmishers, who killed thirty of the enemy,
including two Indian chiefs, sustaining no loss them-
120 HISTORY OF VERMONT
selves, an indication of the skill of American marksmen.
Stark called a council of officers, after establishing
his camp, which was on the Vermont side of the present
State boundary line, and a plan of attack was agreed
upon. Baume's encampment was on the summit of a
hill overlooking the Walloomsac River, where it changes
its direction almost at right angles. On the front of
his position a hill rises abruptly from the west bank of
the stream. There were several log huts in the vicinity,
which were occupied by Baume's troops. A considerable
body of Loyalists under command of Col. Francis
Pfister, a retired British officer, who resided in the town
of Hoosick, and Peters' corps of Provincials, were
stationed on the opposite side of the river from the main
body of British troops, about three-fourths of a mile
from this encampment, upon a hill considerably lower
than the height occupied by Baume.
Stark had planned to attack the enemy on Friday
morning, August 15, but rain fell the entire day. Glich,
one of Baume's officers, says of this storm that it was
"an absolute torrent, to afford shelter against which
human ingenuity has as yet devised no covering." This
rain was accompanied by "a perfect hurricane of wind,"
so that a general attack was not considered feasible.
Stark, however, harrassed the enemy by frequent out-
post attacks during the day, but the storm was so violent
that not one in a dozen of the muskets could be dis-
charged. The result of these skirmishes was favorable
to the Americans, giving encouragement to the militia.
Some of Baume's Indians deserted at this time, saying
"the woods were full of Yankees." All day long, through
the storm and tempest, and far into the night, Baume's
Plan of the Battle of Bennington
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 121
men were engaged in throwing up works of defence
both on the main redoubt occupied by the dragoons, and
on the lesser fortification occupied by the Tories, com-
manding the road by which Burgoyne would send rein-
forcements. Logs from the farm cabins were used in
constructing both fortifications. The torrents of rain
repeatedly washed down the earth thrown up for works
of defence, and the excavations and ditches were filled
with water, but the men toiled on. Glich says that each
man felt that he was working for his personal safety.
By this time the invaders had become thoroughly
alarmed, realizing that they were in a dangerous situa-
tion. Quoting again from Glich, he says that the night
of August 14 was not spent "in a sense of absolute secur-
ity." The night of August 15 was passed ''not very com-
fortably, as may well be supposed, seeing that no fires
were lighted, and that we were all impressed with a
powerful sense of impending danger. * * * There were
few amongst us that slept very soundly. We could not
but remember that we were cut ofif by a wide tract of
desolate country from all communications with our
friends, and exposed to attacks from every side from
a numerous enemy; and the whoop which the savages
raised from time to time, as well as an occasional mus-
ket shot, gave notice that even now that enemy was not
inactive. Our anxiety for the return of day was greater
by far than perhaps any of us would wish to acknowl-
edge, even to his dearest friend."
A graphic picture of the beauty of the morning of
the battle, Saturday, August 16, is found in Glich's
narrative, in which he says : "The morning of the six-
teenth rose beautifully serene. The storm of the pre-
122 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ceding day having expended itself, not a cloud was left
to darken the face of the heavens, whilst the very leaves
hung motionless, and the long grass waved not, under the
influence of a perfect calm. Every object around, too,
appeared to peculiar advantage, for the fields looked
green and refreshed, the river was swollen and tumultu-
ous, and the branches were all loaded with dew drops,
which glittered in the sun's early rays like so many
diamonds. Nor would it be easy to imagine any scene
more rife with peaceful and even pastoral beauty. Look-
ing down from this summit of the rising ground, I be-
held immediately beneath me a wide sweep of stately for-
est, interrupted at remote intervals by green meadows or
yellow cornfields, whilst here and there a cottage, a shed,
or some other primitive edifice reared its modest head
as if for the purpose of reminding the spectator that
man had begun his inroads upon nature, without as yet
taking away from her simplicity and grandeur. I hardly
recollect a scene which struck me at the moment more
forcibly, or which has left a deeper or a more lasting
impression on my memory." Before the setting of the
sun that day this German ofiftcer looked down from this
height above the Walloomsac upon a spectacle as far
removed as one could imagine from the pastoral scene
of the early morning.
When the news of Baume's approach reached Berk-
shire county, Massachusetts, there was great activity,
and troops under Colonel Symonds and Lieut. Col. David
Rossiter responded to the appeals for aid. Among
these volunteers was a company of Stockbridge Indians,
who wore the Indian costume, and acted as scouts for
the American army. Parson Thomas Allen, of Pitts-
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 123
field, a man of strong character and great influence,
accompanied the Berkshire militia, riding in the sulky
in which he made his pastoral visits, and which has been
likened in this instance to a war chariot. The Massa-
chusetts troops arrived at Bennington during the night
of August 15, thoroughly drenched by rain, but they
had kept their powder dry. Frequent alarms in harvest
time, which had failed to materialize in engagements,
had called these men from their farms, greatly to their
disgust, and many of the Berkshire militia regarded
this as a false alarm, grumbling, no doubt, as they
marched through the rain. Edward Everett, in his
"Life of Stark," relates a tradition to the effect that
before daylight on the morning of August 16, Parson
Allen said to General Stark: ''We the people of Berk-
shire, have been frequently called upon to fight, but have
never been led against the enemy. We have now re-
solved, if you will not let us fight, never to turn out
again." It is said that Stark asked him if he wished to
march then, when it was dark and rainy, and he replied :
"No, not just this minute." Stark is said to have re-
sponded: "Then if the good Lord should once more
give us sunshine, and I do not give you fighting enough,
I will never ask you to come again." Before the Berk
shire men left their encampment that morning, Parson
Allen prayed that the Almighty would "teach their
hands to war, and their fingers to fight."
On Saturday morning all was quiet along the front of
Baume's encampment, and the officers were encouraged
by this lull to consider the advisability of resuming the
offensive without waiting for reinforcements. Orders
were issued for the men tn eat their breakfasts, after
124 HISTORY OF VERMONT
which an advance was planned. It is said that the sol-
diers hardly had stacked their arms and unslung their
haversacks when, toward nine o'clock, scouts came in
from various directions, saying that columns of armed
men were approaching, but it could not be ascertained
whether they were friends or enemies. Most of them
were in their shirt sleeves, and upon being told by one
of the Provincials that these men were Loyalists, Baume
permitted them to encamp on his flanks and rear. Cap-
tain Fraser protested strongly against accepting the pro-
testations of friendship made by these so-called de-
serters. Glich says that on the last day's march Baume
had been joined "by many country people, most of whom
demanded and obtained arms, as persons friendly to
the royal cause." He says that about half past nine
o'clock in the morning the advanced parties of the Brit-
ish force were withdrawn from thickets which might
have been held for hours against superior numbers, and
these points of vantage were occupied by the supposed
Loyalists. According to Glich, this action caused great
excitement and alarm among the King's troops, and he
adds: "With the solitary exception of our leader, there
was not a man among us who appeared otherwise than
satisfied that those to whom he (Baume) had listened
were traitors." Burgoyne and Reidesel also assert that
Baume was duped by these supposed Loyalists, who
turned upon him later in the day. There may be, doubt-
less there is, some foundation for the assertion, but it
is difficult to take these statements at their face value,
or to escape the belief that this incident was seized upon
after the battle as a partial excuse for Baume's defeat.
It is certain that Loyalists in considerable numbers
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 125
fought under the British colors that day, many of them
being from the vicinity of the battle field. A letter
written by Joseph Rudd, a Bennington soldier in Stark's
army, says that "the bigger part of Dutch Hoosick was
in the battle against us."
Stark was also joined on Saturday morning by Colonel
Herrick with three hundred Vermont Rangers, who are
said to have worn a uniform of green with red facings.
The two Bennington companies led, respectively, by
Captains Elijah Dewey and Samuel Robinson, also
formed a part of the American army.
The plan of attack outlined in the council called by
Stark, and intended for use Friday morning, was put
into operation Saturday. After the orders had been
given by General Stark on the morning of August 16,
sitting in his saddle he is said to have pointed in the
direction of the enemy and exclaimed: "There are the
Redcoats, and they are ours, or this night Molly Stark
sleeps a widow." This expression varies somewhat, as
told by different persons, but the meaning in every in-
stance is the same
Colonel Nichols, of the New Hampshire troops, with
two hundred men, and Colonel Herrick, of the Vermont
forces, with three hundred men, were directed to attack,
respectively, the right and the left of the rear of Baume's
position. After Nichols had started he sent back for
reinforcements, and one hundred men were ordered to
join his detachment. It was necessary to make a wide
circuit in order to avoid discovery by the enemy, and
the Walloomsac was forded twice in the execution of
this manoeuvre. Colonel Hubbard and Colonel Stickney
of General Stark's brigade with three hundred men
126 HISTORY OF VERMONT
were ordered to the extreme right of the enemy's posi-
tion. During the period of waiting for Stark's Heu-
tenants to reach the positions assigned them, a threat-
ened attack on the front attracted the attention of the
enemy, the Berkshire mihtia, and the reserves, some
three hundred strong, under the personal command of
Stark, marching and countermarching near the Tory
breastworks. A soldier who was a participant in this
movement said: "We were marched round and round
a circular hill till we were tired. Stark said it was to
amuse the Germans. All the while a cannonade was
kept up upon us from the breastworks. It hurt nobody
and it lessened our fear of the great guns."
As the regiment approached the Tory entrenchments.
Parson Allen, with the Berkshire militia, knowing that
some of his old neighbors were in the enemy's ranks,
mounted a fallen tree and made a speech, urging them
to leave the enemies of their country, to prevent the
shedding of blood, and warning them of the conse-
quences of their hostility. It is hardly to be wondered
that a shower of lead was the response, but it is re-
markable that the militant clerg}^man escaped un-
wounded, although the tree on which he stood was rid-
dled with bullets. This episode is an excellent illustra-
tion of the lack of discipline that prevailed among many
of the American volunteers. After stepping down from
the log. Parson Allen turned to his brother, Lieut. Joseph
Allen, and said: "Now give me a musket: You load,
and I'll fire," and the Parson is said to have fired the
first gun from the American side, a little in advance of
orders.
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 127
About three o'clock in the afternoon Nichols and
Herrick completed their detour, and as they approached
the rear of Baume's positions the Indians were driven
in by the first volleys of Nichols' and Herrick's men,
two Indians being killed, and fearing that they would
be caught between the two companies they fled in single
file between the two detachments, according to Thacher,
with horrid yells and the jingling of cow bells. The
British opinion seemed to be that the Indians were more
of an annoyance than a benefit. Before the Ticonderoga
campaign ended it was said of Burgoyne's Indians that
they ''seem to have given more trouble to him than to
the enemy."
The sound of Nichols' musket fire was the signal for
Stark to order his men to advance, and a continuous
fire was poured upon the first line entrenchments held
by the Loyalists under Colonel Pfister. The fire was
so hot that the defenders could not endure it, and in
a panic the Tories tried to scale the steep hill and gain
the protection of the second line of entrenchments. The
heavy rain of the previous day falling upon the up-
turned soil, dug over in the work of preparing Baume's
defences, made the slope of the hill extremely slippery,
and a foothold decidedly precarious. Below the fleeing
Tories were the American militia, trained from their
youth to careful marksmanship, and above was a hill
almost impossible to ascend. As the fleeing Tories en-
deavored desperately to gain the shelter of the British
entrenchments, the sharpshooters picked them ofif as
hunters might shoot game running to cover, and down
this slippery hill the Tories tumbled, some killed, some
wounded, and others unharmed, but not able to secure
128 HISTORY OF VERMONT
a foothold. It is related in some accounts that a por-
tion of the American forces approached the Tory forti-
fication under cover of a small ravine, or gully, which
protected them until they were very near the fort. In
this engagement Colonel Pfister was mortally wounded.
The Canadian troops, grenadiers and rangers, were
driven from the log cabins and redoubts they occupied
near the bridge. The main body of Stark's troops
forded the river and advanced up the hill through the
woods, toward Baume's redoubt, while Nichols and Her-
rick were attacking from the rear. It should be re-
membered that the attacking forces were militia, mostly
without bayonets, who were matched against regular
troops, protected by entrenchments and possessing two
pieces of artillery.
The engagement opened, according to Stark's report
to the New Hampshire Council, "precisely at three
o'clock in the afternoon," and lasted two hours. For
an hour and a half on that hot August afternoon, the
American soldiers struggled to gain the eminence occu-
pied by the British troops, amid a hail of bullets and
an occasional shot from the enemy's brass cannon.
Sheltering themselves behind trees, a method of war-
fare learned in Indian campaigns, Stark's soldiers at
intervals advanced slowly but surely, until the crest of
the hill was gained. At the last, the Americans, ap-
proaching from different directions were obliged to be
careful not to shoot each other instead of the enemy.
In another half hour the battle was won.
The British troops fought bravely, but their ammuni-
tion was exhausted. Glich says : ''The solitary tumbril
which contained the whole of our spare ammunition
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 129
became ignited and blew up with a violence which shook
the very ground under our feet, and caused a momentary
cessation in firing, both on our side and that of the en-
emy." For a time the bayonet, rifle butt, sabre and
pike were used. Then Baume ordered his men to hang
their carbines over their shoulders and rely on their
swords. Reidesel claims that the King's troops broke
through the American ranks twice, but were over-
powered. Baume received a mortal wound in the abdo-
men while leading his men in an attempt to cut their
way through their foes, and his troops were scattered.
Glich claims to have escaped with about thirty of his
comrades.
Jesse Field, an American soldier who participated in
the battle, left a statement in which he said of the last
stage of the contest that "after we passed the redoubt
there was no regular battle — all was confusion — a party
of our men would attack and kill, or take prisoners,
another party of Hessians. Every man seemed to man-
age for himself and, being attached by chance to some
squad, either under some officer, or without any, would
attack every party that came in their way."
The defeated soldiers fled, abandoning their artillery
and baggage, and were pursued about a mile, many
prisoners being taken. Apparently nearly all of Baume's
forces were killed, wounded, or taken prisoners.
Stark, in his report to General Gates, says that the
engagement was "the hottest I ever saw in my life — it
represented one continued clap of thunder." Parson
Allen told of the "irresistible impetuosity" of the Amer-
ican attack; of "the ardor and patience beyond expecta-
tion" which they displayed; of the "extremely hot" fire
130 HISTORY OF VERMONT
from the British redoubt, which he compared to "peals
of thunder and flashes of lightning." In his report to
the New Hampshire Council, Stark said: "Our people
behaved with the greatest spirit and bravery imaginable.
Had they been Alexanders, or Charleses of Sweden,
they could not have behaved better."
But the battle was not ended with the defeat of
Baume. General Stark in his orders had promised that
all the plunder secured from the camp of the enemy
should be distributed among his soldiers, and after the
engagement many of the men scattered over the battle
field, intent upon gathering the spoils of victory. There
were also prisoners and wounded to be cared for at this
time. Colonels Baume and Pfister, wounded unto death,
were borne to a house in Shaftsbury, about a mile and
a half from the battle field, the Tory leader being carried
a part of the wa}^ on the back of Jonathan Armstrong,
of Shaftsbury. Both officers died within twenty-four
hours after their arrival. They are said to have been
buried near the bank of the river a few rods below the
site of a paper mill once owned by Hunter & Co. The
exact place of burial is now unknown. Baume was
buried "with all military honors."
During this period of confusion. Stark received news
of the approach of British reinforcements, then only
two miles away. It will be remembered that when
Baume, on August 14, had met the American troops, he
sent a messenger to General Burgoyne asking aid. This
courier arrived in the night, bearing a letter which told
that the Americans were in greater force than had been
expected. Sir Francis Clarke, Burgoyne's aide-de-camp,
was sent with orders to Lieutenant Colonel Breymann,
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 131
at Battenkill, with orders to march immediately to
Baume's support. These orders were received at eight
o'clock on the morning of August 15, and an hour later
Breymann started with a corps consisting of twenty-
two officers and six hundred and twenty rank and file,
yagers, chasseurs and grenadiers, all Germans, and two
cannon. Two ammunition boxes were placed upon the
artillery wagons. Each soldier carried forty cartridges.
It was necessary for the soldiers to ford the Battenkill
River, which delayed their progress. There was trouble
from the start. The weather was rainy. The roads
were hilly and the mud almost bottomless, and it was
necessary in the most difficult places to attach several
horses to each cannon or ammunition wagon, pull it out
of the mire, and then return for another. The ammuni-
tion carts were upset, the guide lost his way, and accord-
ing to Breymann's own statement he could make hardly
half a mile an hour. He was obliged to encamp seven
miles north of Cambridge, N. Y., that night, but Lieuten-
ant Hagerman was sent forward with a dispatch which
Colonel Baume received at eleven o'clock in the evening,
an answer being delivered the following morning. Early
on the morning of August 16, Breymann started, but
the roads were bad, and the artillery horses were weak
from lack of food. Major Barner proceeded in advance
of the main body and procured horses and carts, which
were obtained before noon. At Cambridge a halt of
half an hour was made ''to collect the columns." About
two o'clock in the afternoon word was received from
Colonel Skene that the Americans showed signs of re-
occupying the mill at Sancoik and an advanced guard
of eighty men was sent forward. It was 4:30
132 HISTORY OF VERMONT
o'clock in the afternoon when Breymann reached this
mill at Sancoik, where he met Colonel Skene, and learned
that Baume was only two miles distant. He says that
he had heard neither cannon nor musket shot, and if
Colonel Skene knew that a battle was in progress, Brey-
mann was not informed of the fact. A little way be-
yond the bridge a considerable number of armed men,
some of whom wore either blouses or jackets, were seen
hastening toward an eminence on Breymann's left flank.
Colonel Skene thought these men were Loyalists, but
when he called to them their answer was a volley of
musketry. Thereupon Major Barner was directed to
advance upon the eminence and the grenadiers and
yagers were sent forward upon the right.
This was the beginning of the second part of the
battle of Bennington. Colonel Rossiter, of the Massa-
chusetts militia, was active in attempting to rally the
American troops. In his narrative of the battle, Silas
Walbridge says that at this stage some of the officers
were ordering "forward" and others "retreat." One
story is to the effect that General Stark gave an order
to retreat, but Col. Seth Warner, hearing it, exclaimed :
"Stand to it my lads; you shall have help immediately."
It appears from a Massachusetts letter of the period
that when Stark learned of Breymann's approach, he
sent out an express calling for reinforcements.
There has been no little dispute over Colonel Warner's
presence or absence during the first part of the battle
of Bennington, but General Stark's official correspond-
ence, and the testimony of men who participated in the
battle, appear to show conclusively that Warner was
with Stark during the period immediately preceding the
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 133
battle, and during the battle itself. Colonel Warner's
regiment had been stationed at Manchester, and word
had been received on August 14 that it was needed at
Bennington, but owing to the absence of a large scout-
ing party under Capt. John Chipman the regiment did
not leave until the morning of August 15. Marching
all day through the rain, it was nearly midnight when
Warner's men reached a point about one mile from
Bennington village, and encamped. A considerable part
of Saturday forenoon was spent in drying arms and
equipment and securing additional ammunition, of which
there was a shortage, so that it was noon or after be-
fore a start was made froni Bennington. A short stop
was made at Stark's encampment, where coats and knap-
sacks were left and each man was served with a gill of
rum and water.
It was late in the afternoon when Warner's regiment,
commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Safiford, only about
one hundred and thirty men being left after the Hub-
bardton defeat, arrived on the battle field. Some of
the American troops had been rallied, and a defence
was being made against Breymann's troops, but Stark's
forces were falling back slowly, contesting every inch
of ground.
In the second engagement the two brass cannon cap-
tured in the first battle were used by the Americans, but
it is said that Breymann's two guns were of larger
calibre. Warner's fresh troops arrived just in time to
furnish a rallying point for the somewhat demoralized
American forces. A misunderstanding of orders sent
some of Warner's force into a swamp, but they soon
extricated themselves. The regiment retreated slowly
134 HISTORY OF VERMONT
and in good order for about three-quarters of a mile,
firing constantly. When high ground was reached a
stand was made. An attempt on the part of the enemy
to execute a flanking movement on the right was par-
tially successful, but finally was defeated. Gradually
the scattered American troops were assembled, and
after severe fighting lasting two hours, Breymann's
force was repulsed, his two field pieces were taken, and
the fleeing enemy were pursued into the forest as long
as their pursuers could see to follow them. Stark says
the whole body would have been captured with another
hour of daylight.
Breymann's soldiers made better time on the return
march than they did on the advance, reaching Cam-
bridge, N. Y., about midnight of August 16, where they
remained until morning, when the march was renewed,
and on Sunday afternoon Burgoyne met the defeated
troops at the camp of the Twentieth regiment, which
had advanced on the road to Sancoik.
In Stark's report to Gates he summarized the spoils
of victory as four brass cannon, seven hundred stands
of arms, some brass barreled drums, and several Hes-
sian swords. About seven hundred prisoners were
taken and two hundred dead were found on the battle
field. Stark's letter to the New Hampshire Council
after the battle, dated August 18, gives the list of pris-
oners as follows : One Lieutenant Colonel, since dead,
one Major, seven Captains, fourteen Lieutenants, four
Ensigns, two Cornets, one Judge Advocate, one Baron,
two Canadian officers, six Sergeants, one aide-de-camp,
one Hessian Chaplain, and seven hundred prisoners. He
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 135
says that upward of two hundred of the enemy were
killed in battle. In a letter written to General Gates on
August 22, Stark says two hundred and seven dead
were left by the enemy on the battle field. General Lin-
coln, writing to General Schuyler two days after the
battle, gave the list of prisoners substantially the same
as did General Stark, so far as officers are concerned,
but he mentions thirty-seven British soldiers, thirty-
eight Canadians, one hundred and fifty-one Tories and
three hundred and ninety-eight Hessians among those
taken, in addition to eighty wounded prisoners. He
estimated the number of the enemy's dead at two hun-
dred. General Stark gave his own losses as forty
wounded and thirty killed. Lincoln's letter to Schuyler
on this subject says: "We had about twenty
or thirty killed in the action and perhaps fifty
wounded." General Burgoyne, in a letter to Lord
George Germaine, written August 20, gives the British
loss in killed and prisoners in both actions at Ben-
nington as twenty-six officers and about four hun-
dred men, and he adds that the American loss in killed
and wounded was "more than double to ours." While
it may be natural for an American writer to prefer
American estimates, the weight of evidence appears to
be in favor of the figures given by Stark and Lincoln.
Burgoyne was writing to the rulers of England, in
whose favor, naturally, he desired to stand as well as
possible, and it is not strange that he should minimize
his own losses and magnify those of his opponents, when
his story, at best, was that of a defeat.
136 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Stark was a plain, blunt soldier, who did not seek to
win favor for himself by fair words or boastful claims.
The only note of exultation in his brief and modest re-
ports may be found in a postscript to his letter to the
New Hampshire Council, in which he observed: '*I
think in this action we have returned the enemy a
proper compliment for their Hubbardston (Hubbardton)
engagement." It is probable that the British dead in
the battle of Bennington amounted approximately to
two hundred and fifty. In the skirmishing of August
14 they are said to have lost thirty, and Stark reports
two hundred and seven dead on the field. Very likely
some were slain in the pursuit of Breymann's fleeing
troops through the forest.
General L,incoln's estimate of the forces engaged was
about two thousand American and fifteen hundred
British soldiers. President Bartlett of Dartmouth
College, in his address delivered on the centennial anni-
versary of the battle of Bennington, presented a careful
statement of the number of American troops engaged
in this conflict, most of his figures being taken from
official records. Of Stark's brigade of one thousand,
five hundred and twenty-three men, one company had
been left at Charlestown, N. H., but the two companies
sent to guard the height of land between Charlestown
and the sources of Otter Creek were called in before
the battle. The records for the Vermont and the
Massachusetts troops are far from complete, but Presi-
dent Bartlett estimates them at five hundred Vermont
and two hundred and fifty Massachusetts soldiers, or
approximately two thousand, two hundred and fifty men.
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 137
Capt. Peter Kimball, a New Hampshire officer, recorded
in his diary that the plunder taken at Bennington was
divided among two thousand, two hundred and fifty
men. Possibly a few men who came in too late for the
battle may have had a share, but the best sources of in-
formation indicate that the forces under Stark's com-
mand were between two thousand and two thousand,
two hundred and fifty officers and soldiers.
The prisoners were crowded into the meeting house
at Bennington until it was feared that the safety of the
structure was endangered, and some of them were with-
drawn. It is said that some of these escaped. Most
of the prisoners who were in the custody of General
Fellows were sent to Massachusetts, many going to Bos-
ton. On August 19 they were at Lanesboro, Mass. A
few were left in Berkshire and Hampshire counties. By
order of the General Court some of these prisoners were
consigned to committees representing various towns in
these counties, and, as labor was scarce, they were per-
mitted to be hired for wages. A few of these laborers
became permanent residents of the towns where they
were assigned. The Tory prisoners were marched into
the village, two by two, and the women of Bennington
took down their beds to obtain cords with which to bind
them, a fact to which General Stark alluded in a letter
written in his old age. Capt. Samuel Robinson was
appointed overseer in charge. Some of them were kept,
for a time, at least, in the meeting house, others in Cap-
tain Dewey's barn, and in the school house. Later, some
of them were banished from the town, under penalty of
death if they should return ; some were sentenced to labor
138 HISTORY OF VERMONT
in the mines at Simsbury, Conn.; others (Loyahsts)
were permitted to return to their own farms under con-
dition that they should not go beyond the Umits of their
own lands.
It is related that Doctors Potts and Harvey ministered
to the wounded with medicines and amputating instru-
ments. It was necessary to bring some of the injured to
Bennington in ox-carts. It is not strange that the
wounded lacked the best medical treatment in this fron-
tier region. General Lincoln was moved to write to the
Massachusetts Council: "It is very unhappy for the
wounded, and painful to us, that such is our situation
that we can not afford them all that speedy relief which
their distresses demand of us." It is related that Doc-
tor Wood, Surgeon to General Burgoyne's hospitals,
visited General Gates with a letter from General Bur-
goyne, complaining of the treatment of wounded prison-
ers, captured at Bennington. Doctor Wood had been
sent to Bennington under a flag of truce, where more
than one hundred severely wounded Brunswickers were
in hospitals. As the captured German officers were in
need of money, clothing and linen. General Reidesel sent
them one hundred guineas, and various necessaries, and
at Burgoyne's suggestion he took medicines and surgical
instruments with him.
General Reidesel, in his '"Memoirs," gave details of
the battle of Bennington, although he did not participate
in the engagement. The dragoon regiment, according
to a report by Adjutant Clene, should have numbered
twenty officers, thirty-three non-commissioned officers,
eight musicians, two hundred and forty-six privates and
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 139
twenty servants. After the battle this regiment num-
bered five ofiicers, five non-commissioned officers, two
musicians, seventy-seven privates and fourteen ser-
vants. Among the missing officers were Major von
Maiborn, Captains von Frick, von Reineking, von
Schlagenteuffel, Jr., Lieutenants von Reckrodt, von
Reicheufeld, von Bottimer, and Amiers, several of
whom are known to have died. Lieutenant Boera and
Chaplain Melzheimer were wounded. Four New Hamp-
shire officers were killed and two died of wounds re-
ceived.
Four Bennington men were among the dead, John
Fay, Henry Walbridge, Daniel Warner and Nathan
Clark. It is said that the news of the death of John
Fay, passed along the battle line of Vermonters, aroused
the troops who were maddened to fury and advanced
over the breastworks "with an impulse of onset that
no mortal could resist."
Before and during the fighting on that eventful six-
teenth of August, the people of Bennington and Wil-
liamstown, Mass., women and aged men, assembled in
their churches to pray for victory, and before the battle
Colonel Nichols knelt with his men in prayer, while Par-
son Allen prayed before the Berkshire men were led into
action. Before the battle some feeble and helpless per-
sons were removed from Bennington to Pownal, while
others sought safety in Massachusetts or Connecticut.
General Stark presented to each of the three States,
Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts, a Hes-
sian gun and bayonet, a broadsword, a brass barrelled
drum and a grenadier's cap. In acknowledging the gift,
140 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Thomas Chittenden, as president of the Council of
Safety, thanked General Stark sincerely on behalf of the
Council "for the infinite service he had been pleased to
do them in defending them and their constituents from
the cruel and bloody rage of their unnatural enemy, who
sought to destroy them," and after acknowledging with
gratitude the gifts transmitted, he added: "The Gen-
eral may rely that they will be reserved for the use they
were designed." It is greatly to be regretted that this
promise was ignored and that these trophies were valued
so lightly that they were not preserved, as was done in
Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The Hessian
broadsword was presented to the Council to be kept in
the Council chamber "as a memorial in commemoration
of the glorious action fought at Walloomscott Aug. 16,
1777. In which case the exertions of the said council
was found to be exceedingly serviceable."
In thanking General Stark for his trophies the Massa-
chusetts Legislature paid this tribute to the valor dis-
played at the battle of Bennington:
"The events of that day strongly mark the bravery
of the men who, unskilled in war, forced from their in-
trenchments a chosen number of veteran troops of
boasted Britons as well as the address and valor of the
General who directed their movements, and led them on
to conquest. This signal exploit opened the way to a
rapid succession of advantages most important to
America." The Board of War was directed "in the
name of this court" (the General Court, or Legislature)
to present to "the Hon. Brigadier Stark a complete suit
of clothes becoming his rank, together with a piece of
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 141
linen, as a testimony of the high sense this court has of
the great and important services rendered by that brave
officer to the United States of America."
Vermont now possesses two vakiable trophies of this
battle in two brass cannon, supposed to be the ones cap-
tured in the storming of the redoubt and turned upon
Breymann's reinforcements. In a thorough investiga-
tion of the history of these cannon, Horace W. Bailey
learned that after their capture they were taken into the
Hudson valley and used in the battles that resulted in
the surrender of Burgoyne. In process of time they be-
came a part of the ordnance of General Hull, in the War
of 1812, and were surrendered with his army when the
British captured Detroit, just thirty-five years after they
were taken by Stark. When the Americans captured
Fort George these guns were taken once more. When
the second war with Great Britain closed these cannon
found a place in the United States Arsenal at Wash-
ington. In time they were thrown outside the building,
their carriages having become useless, and they were
found by Henry Stevens, the Vermont antiquarian. At
his suggestion Governor Slade recommended that action
be taken to secure these trophies for Vermont, and the
Legislature adopted a resolution requesting the Gov-
ernor to demand the return to Vermont of the four brass
cannon taken by the Green Mountain Boys at Benning-
ton. The Secretary of War having declined to deliver
the cannon, the Legislature requested the Vermont dele-
gation in Congress to use their exertions to secure
proper authority for their transfer. Mr. Collamer, then
a member of the House, introduced a resolution in 1846
142 HISTORY OF VERMONT
asking for the four cannon, which failed to pass. In
1848 he introduced a resolution asking for two of the
cannon and supported his resolution in an eloquent
speech. The resolution was adopted, and on July 27,
1848, an order was issued transferring the cannon to
Vermont. On October 20, of that year, they were in-
stalled at the State House at Montpelier with appro-
priate exercises, where they still remain among the
State's most cherished relics. It is said that one of the
brass cannon taken from Breymann at the battle of
Bennington, known as the "Molly Stark Gun," is in the
possession of the town of New Boston, N. H. ; and that
its companion piece was placed on a New Hampshire
privateer during the War of 1812 and was lost at sea.
There are in existence a large number of anecdotes
relating to the battle of Bennington which cannot be
woven into the main story of the engagement, and some
of them are given here as throwing additional light on
the general subject.
In an account of the battle by Thomas Mellen, a sol-
dier who participated in the engagement, it is said:
''Stark and Warner rode up near the enemy to recon-
noiter; were fired at with cannon and came galloping
back. Stark rode w4th shoulders bent forward, and
cried out to his men. 'Those rascals know that I am an
officer; don't you see they honor me with a big gun as
a salute'." Bancroft quotes from a German writer to
show that the American sharpshooters advanced to a
point within eight yards of the loaded cannon, in order
to pick ofif the artillerymen.
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 143
It is said that Stark was obliged personally to show
his men how to load and fire the cannon taken from
Baume, as they did not know how to do it.
Some of the volunteers came to Bennington armed
with scythes and axes, according to a resident of Ben-
nington who was a boy at the time of the battle and saw
the militia arrive.
After the battle Lieut. James Claghorn of Rutland
counted seven bullet holes in his hat and clothes.
Stark had ordered a hogshead of rum to be dis-
tributed to the men after the first engagement, but they
left it untasted to meet Breymann's troops.
It is said that Colonel Baume's cap was worn to the
Legislature for many years by the Representative from
Pownal.
The whole expenses of Stark's brigade amounted to
four hundred ninety-one pounds, one penny.
Some of the American troops slept in a cornfield the
night after the battle, each man using a hill of corn for
a pillow.
Forty-two out of one hundred and nine poll taxpayers
of Salisbury, K. H., were in the battle, their Captain
being Daniel Webster's father.
Ten Tories were buried in a common grave, most of
them shot through the head, an indication of the
accuracy of the aim of the American riflemen. In the
old cemetery at Bennington Center, in a common grave,
lie American, British and Hessian soldiers, over which
has been erected a marker of Barre granite.
A few days before the battle of Bennington a scouting
party of Tories and Indians was sent out to operate
144 HISTORY OF VERMONT
between Fort Edward, N. Y., and Bennington. Among
the captives taken was the wife of Capt. Elisha Coon.
Although in a delicate condition she was compelled to
travel on foot. During the night of the second day fol-
lowing her capture she gave birth to a child. Notwith-
standing her weakness she was compelled to resume her
journey the next morning to the place where Baume's
troops were encamped previous to the attack by the
forces under General Stark. When the Indians fled at
the opening of the battle, she was taken with them until
Breymann's reinforcements were met. Compelled to
follow the German troops, after their defeat she accom-
panied them in their hasty retreat to Cambridge, N. Y.
Here she became ill, and being left without a guard, she
hid herself and child until the retreating soldiers had
departed, and with much difficulty returned home.
Nothing was left for food except a little salt pork, which
had been concealed, and some ripe cucumbers. All
other provisions, the cooking utensils and the furniture
had been taken away. She kindled a fire, roasted the
cucumbers in the embers and ate them, although fearful
that such a diet might prove fatal. Three weeks after
her return home she was made prisoner again by an-
other party of Tories and Indians and was taken to Still-
water, but once more managed to escape, this time while
the battle of September 19, was being fought.
It is asserted that Burgoyne was influenced by Major
Skene to advance upon Bennington, being assured by
him that large numbers of the yeomanry would flock to
his standard. Skene was strongly disliked by the Amer-
icans and strenuous efforts were made during the battle
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 145
to kill or capture him. Four horses were shot under
him and a fifth was so seriously wounded that the ani-
mal died soon after it had carried its rider to a place of
safety. After Burgoyne's surrender, Skene went to
England, not daring to return home. His property was
confiscated and sold.
General Burgoyne, in his account of the battle, en-
deavored to convey the impression that Stark and his
forces were at Bennington purely by accident, a claim
which the facts of history are far from justifying.
While Stark did not know of Baume's approach until
the latter was a few miles away, he was at Bennington
in response to the appeal made by the Vermont Council
of Safety, in order to meet just such an attack as that
which the German troops intended to make.
An account of the battle in the Pennsylvania Evening
Post, said that on the way to Bennington eighteen
Massachusetts soldiers deserted and went over to the
enemy, and that after the battle fifteen of the deserters
were found dead upon the field. It is also stated that
"a. good number (of the German troops) deserted and
joined us."
Parson Allen found a German soldier's horse laden
with panniers full of bottled wine, which he distributed
to wounded and exhausted soldiers, retaining two large
bottles as trophies.
Heman Allen, oldest brother of Ethan and Ira Allen,
a member of the Vermont Council of Safety, went to
the battle field, became greatly fatigued, caught a severe
cold, and contracted an illness from which he never re-
covered, dying May 18, 1778.
146 HISTORY OF VERMONT
In a newspaper of the period it is related that Stephen
Fay, landlord of the Catamount Tavern, sent five sons
to the battle of Bennington. Following the engagement
he was informed that he was unfortunate in one of
his sons. He inquired if the son had misbehaved, or
deserted his post. "Worse than that," was the reply,
"he is among the slain; he fell contending mightily in
the cause." ''Then I am satisfied," said the father, and
he asked that his son's body might be brought to him.
When this request was complied with the bereaved
father washed his son's wounds, saying, "I thank God
I had a son who was willing to give his life for his
country !"
On the day of the battle of Bennington, Capt. Isaac
Tichenor, then Deputy Commissary General for pur-
chases for the Northern Department of the army, after-
ward Judge, Governor and United States Senator, ar-
rived at Capt. Elijah Dewey's tavern. Although large
kettles filled with meat were boiling over the fire, Mrs.
Dewey declined to get dinner for him. Her attention
being called to the contents of the kettles, she said:
"That is for the men who have gone to fight for their
country, where you ought to be." When the traveller
explained the manner in which he was serving his coun-
try, dinner was forthcoming.
Many other incidents and anecdotes might be
gathered, for they formed an important theme of con-
versation for many years after the engagement, and a
large number of them found their way into print.
Just three days after Stark had won his notable vic-
torv, the Continental Congress having received no news
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 147
of the battle of Bennington, gravely declared that
the liberal instructions given to Stark by virtue
of which he was not subject to the Continental
authorities, were ''destructive of military subordination
and highly prejudicial to the common cause," and re-
quested the New Hampshire Council to revoke the
orders immediately. That there was an element of
truth in the criticism cannot be denied. Had such a
policy been followed generally, lack of discipline and
subordination, one of the most serious evils of the time,
would have been even more serious. And yet it may
be said in all fairness that Congress had treated Stark
unjustly in the matter of promotion, and that in all
probability Burgoyne would have secured the Benning-
ton stores, and would have made Vermont a British
province, if Stark had been subject to Schuyler's in-
structions. When the news of Baume's defeat reached
Philadelphia, Stark's conduct was viewed in a different
light, and on October 4, Congress, by a unanimous vote,
thanked General Stark, "and the officers and troops
under his command, for their brave and successful
attack upon, and signal victory over the enemy in their
lines at Bennington." At the same time Stark was
appointed a Brigadier in the army of the United States.
There has been some discussion concerning the cor-
rect name of this engagement, and in this connection it
is interesting to note that in a communication to the
Massachusetts Legislature. January 8, 1778, General
Stark referred to it as the "battle of Bennington."
One year after the battle, a public celebration of the
anniversary was held at Bennington, with a speech by
148 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Noah Smith and a poem by Stephen Jacob. For many
years thereafter, on each anniversary, pubHc exercises,
often including a sham battle, were held at Bennington,
and the State Legislature has made August 16 a holi-
day. The centennial anniversary was a notable occa-
sion. President and Mrs. Hayes, members of the Cab-
inet and other distinguished guests being present.
Ten years later, the cornerstone of a monument was
laid near the site of the storehouse, the contents of
which Baume sought to capture, and on August 16,
1891, the year being the one hundredth anniversary of
the admission of Vermont to the Union, the monument
was dedicated in the presence of President Harrison,
members of his Cabinet and distinguished citizens from
many States. The monument is constructed of blue-
gray magnesium limestone. It is three hundred and
six feet, four and one-half inches high and the base at
the surface is thirty-seven feet square. The architect
was G. Philip Rinn of Boston.
Washington had written Schuyler on July 22:
''Could we be so happy as to cut off one of his (Bur-
goyne's) detachments, supposing it should not exceed
four, five or six hundred men, it would inspirit the
people and do away much of their present anxiety. In
such an event they would lose sight of past misfortunes,
fly to arms and afford every aid in their power." These
words were prophetic. After the victory Washington
in a letter to General Putnam, wrote of "the great stroke
struck by General Stark at Bennington," and expressed
the hope that New England would crush Burgoyne.
Governor Clinton of New York wrote: "Since the
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 149
affair at Bennington, not an Indian has been heard of
to the northward; the scalping business seems to have
ceased; indeed I do not apprehend any great danger
from the future operations of Mr. Burgoyne." General
Schuyler wrote to Stark : "The signal victory you have
gained, and the severe loss the enemy have received can-
not fail of producing the most salutary results." The
wife of General Reidesel, in expressing her opinion,
said: "This unfortunate event paralyzed at once, our
operations." Bancroft, the historian, has described
this battle as a "victory, one of the most brilliant and
eventful of the war."
One of the most interesting and valuable estimates
of the importance of this battle may be found in the
writings and speeches of General Burgoyne. In his re-
view of the evidence concerning his campaign presented
before the House of Commons, he alluded to Lord
George Germaine's characterization of the Bennington
expedition as "fatal" and "the cause of all subsequent
misfortunes," and said : "The force found at Benning-
ton upon the march from the Hampshire Grants to the
main army proved the vigor and alacrity of the enemy
in that country. The circumstances of the action at
Bennington established a yet more melancholy convic-
tion of the fallacy of any dependence upon supposed
friends. The noble Lord has said that 'I never de-
spaired of the campaign before the affair of Benning-
ton; that I had no doubt of gaining Albany in as short
a time as the army (in due condition of supply) could
accomplish the march.' I acknowledge the truth of the
assertions in their fullest extent: all mv letters at the
150 HISTORY OF VERMONT
time show it. I will go further and in one sense apply
with the noble Lord the epithet 'fatal' to the affair of
Bennington. The knowledge I acquired of the profes-
sions of loyalty was 'fatal' and put an end to every
expectation from enterprise unsustained by dint of
force." Elsewhere in the same address Burgoyne said:
"He must be of steady faith indeed in American loyalty
who can suppose much of it really existed in the country
of the Hampshire Grants (howsoever it had been
affected and professed) when he reflects not only that
General Stark and Colonel Warner were not opposed in
collecting their men, though my army, then in a tide of
success, were near at hand ; but also that not a Loyalist
was found earnest enough to convey me intelligence."
In a private letter to Lord George Germaine, written
immediately after the battle of Bennington, Burgoyne
had said: ''I find daily reason to doubt the sincerity of
the resolution of the professing Loyalists. I have about
four hundred, but not half of them armed, who may
be depended upon; the rest are trimmers, merely
actuated by interest. The great bulk of the country is
undoubtedly with the Congress, in principle and in zeal ;
and their measures are executed with a secrecy and dis-
patch that are not to be equalled. Wherever the King's
forces point, militia to the amount of three or four
thousand assemble in twenty- four hours, they bring
with them their subsistence &c. and, the alarm over, they
return to their farms. The Hampshire Grants in par-
ticular, a country unpeopled and almost unknown in the
last war, now abounds in the most active and most
rebellious race of the continent, and hangs like a gather-
The Bennington Battle ]\Ionument
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 151
ing storm upon my left." Surely the British com-
mander was in no doubt regarding the importance of
the battle of Bennington, or the loyalty of the people of
the New Hampshire Grants to the American cause.
In Everett's "Life of Stark" the distinguished author
said concerning the battle of Bennington: "Too much
praise cannot be bestowed on the conduct of those who
joined the battle of Bennington, officers and men. It
is, perhaps, the most conspicuous example of the per-
formance by militia of all that is expected of regular
veteran troops. The fortitude and resolution with
which the lines at Bunker Hill were maintained by re-
cent recruits against the assault of a powerful army of
experienced soldiers have always been regarded with
admiration. But at Bennington the hardy yeomanry
of New Hampshire, Vermont and Massachusetts, many
of them fresh from the plough, and unused to the camp,
'advanced,' as General Stark expresses it, 'through fire
and smoke,' and mounted breastworks that were well
fortified with cannon."
While it is true, probably, that Stark's forces out-
numbered those commanded by Baume, the advantage
of numbers was offset by the fact that untrained militia
were pitted against veteran troops, behind intrench-
ments. Without artillery, with few bayonets, with little
military training, these farmer soldiers had the courage
to storm breastworks in the face of artillery fire and to
kill or capture most of Baume's troops. The fortunes
of war, which aided the British in the battle of Hub-
bardton, bringing Reidesel to the scene of conflict just
in time to snatch victory from defeat, operated in be-
152 HISTORY OF VERMONT
half of the Americans at the battle of Bennington, and
brought Warner's decimated regiment on the field at an
opportune moment, making possible the defeat of Brey-
mann's detachment. Without the aid of these Green
Mountain troops Bennington might have been a British
victory. The speed with which Stark assembled and
equipped his troops, and crossed the Green Mountains,
making his own road a part of the way, in itself was a
notable achievement in the mobilization of troops at that
period.
The results of this battle were far reaching. Bur-
goyne was sorely in need of the supplies that were the
object of Baume's expedition, and his failure to secure
them handicapped him severely. He could ill afford to
lose the troops that were killed and captured. The vic-
torious advance of Burgoyne had encouraged the Loyal-
ist spirit, and, although the British commander had
overestimated it, there was enough of it to cause the
American leaders much concern. The battle of Ben-
nington to a great extent put an end to the Loyalist
movement in the Northern region. More than that it
heartened the Americans wonderfully. It taught them
that they could meet and conquer British troops. It
overcame the terror which had prevailed with the ad-
vance of Burgoyne, and resulted in the flocking of the
militia in large numbers to the standard of General
Gates, who succeeded Schuyler almost immediately
after the battle.
If Baume had captured the Bennington stores it is
probable that Burgoyne would have taken Albany and
would have effected a junction with Howe. Very
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 153
largely as a result of the victory at Bennington, Gates
was able to compel the surrender of Burgoyne, and the
result of that surrender was to strengthen America
immeasurably in Europe, to secure foreign aid and to
exert a powerful influence in securing the independence
of the United States. In his masterly oration at the
dedication of the Bennington battle monument, Edward
J. Phelps said: "That conflict was the last hope of the
Hampshire Grants. They were fighting for all they
had on earth, whether of possessions or rights. They
could not go home defeated, for they would have had
no homes to go to. The desolate land that Burgoyne
would have left. New York would have taken." Of the
battle he said: "It was the first success of the Revolu-
tion which bore any fruit. Its guns sounded the first
notes in the knell which announced that the power of
Great Britain over the colonies she had created and had
sacrificed, was passing away. Burgoyne heard it, and
knew what it meant. Washington heard it and hearing
took heart again."
Bennington was an active center of military opera-
tions for some time after the battle. General Stark re-
mained there about a month. A communication signed
by him was dated at Bennington September 15, and it is
recorded that he reached General Gates' headquarters
by easy marches and a circuitous route the morning
of September 18. Troops were coming to and going
from Bennington frequently, and to such an extent that
the Council of Safety in session at that place, directed
Joseph Fay, its secretary, to call the attention of Gen-
eral Gates to the necessity of building barracks and a
154 , HISTORY OF VERMONT
hospital there. Attention was called to the fact that
large quantities of Continental stores were kept there,
including provisions and ammunition "for the use of
the Continent," that a guard was necessary to protect
the stores; that it had become "a place where soldiers
rendezvous," and that the lack of accommodations was
"very inconvenient for both officers and soldiers who
are passing to and from the army," as well as "very
troublesome to the inhabitants," who "have been
willing to suffer anything to support the American
cause, & still are."
General Lincoln, writing from Bennington on August
20 relative to the prospect of considerable reinforce-
ments of the Massachusetts militia, says he cannot in-
form the General Court where the militia will act, but
adds, "I think it is most probable at present in the
Grants." The militia from Berkshire and Hampshire
counties had been permitted to return home, and many
of the soldiers from Middlesex and Worcester counties
were growing "exceedingly impatient," and he found he
could not detain them until the arrival of the three
months' men.
General Lincoln, in a letter dated Bennington, August
25, and addressed to the New Hampshire Council of
Safety, said: "By a conference yesterday with the
honourable Major General Gates, I have reason to be-
lieve that the militia from your State, the Massachusetts
and the Grants will remain for some time on the east
side of the Hudson River." Gates had instructed him
to apply for such troops "as may be wanted in the
Grants." Massachusetts had ordered out one-sixth of
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 155
its militia, which he expected to join him at Bennington.
Gen. Jonathan Warner, writing to Col. Abijah Stearns
of the Massachusetts militia, August 25, directs the
latter to send every sixth man in this regiment, "with
all possible dispatch," to join his brigade of the North-
ern army stationed at Bennington. Frequent refer-
ences are made to Massachusetts troops expected to join
General Lincoln at Bennington. Lincoln wrote from
Bennington, September 3, informing the Massachusetts
authorities of the need of tents, and saying that "troops
are arriving daily," and he hopes the number raised will
arrive soon. The Vermont Council of Safety, on
September 4, appointed Jacob Bayley, Jonas Fay and
Ira Allen a committee to wait on General Lincoln to
assure him that "every aid and assistance in the power
of this Council will be granted him on the earliest
notice."
During the weeks immediately following the battle of
Bennington, General Lincoln had been assembling
troops at that place, and later at Manchester, for the
purpose of attempting to cut General Burgoyne's com-
munications at and in the vicinity of Ticonderoga. On
Monday, September 8, he marched with a small force
from Manchester to Pawlet. Col. John Brown, with a
party of five hundred men, consisting of Herrick's
Rangers, some volunteers and militia, on September 14,
was ordered to proceed to the north end of Lake George,
where he was to destroy the enemy's boats and stores,
release the American prisoners, and, if feasible, with-
out involving too great a loss, to make an attempt to
capture Ticonderoga itself. Colonel Brown, it will be
156 HISTORY OF VERMONT
remembered, had been active in the preUminary opera-
tions that led to the capture of Ticonderoga by Ethan
Allen, May 10, 1775, and had induced Allen to under-
take an unsuccessful attempt to capture Montreal. He
was killed in a battle with Tories and Indians, October
19, 1780.
General Lincoln also sent five hundred men under
Col. Thomas Johnson of Newbury, mostly Massa-
chusetts militia, to threaten Mount Independence, in
order to divert the attention of the enemy from Colonel
Brown's attack, but if a favorable opportunity was
afiforded he was authorized to attack the works there.
Colonel Woodbridge, at the same time, was sent with
five hundred men to Skenesborough (Whitehall) to
divert the attention of the enemy in that quarter, and
to cover the retreat of Colonel Brown, if necessary.
About this time Thomas Chittenden wrote General
Lincoln, from Bennington, that the Council of Safety
had been informed that the British outposts had been
called in from the region south of Lake George, to join
Burgoyne at Saratoga, with artillery and provisions,
with the exception of a few heavy cannon to be left on
Five-Mile Island in Lake George.
The three parties were under the general direction of
Gen. Jonathan Warner of the Massachusetts militia,
who should not be confused with Col. Seth Warner of
the Vermont troops. Colonel Brown's task was a diffi-
cult one. His route took him fourteen miles over a
mountainous region. He crossed South Bay in the
night, and proceeded to a point within a few miles of
Lake George Landing. Colonel Herrick, with a few
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 157
of his Rangers, went forward to reconnoitre this land-
ing.
To Capt. Ebenezer Allen, with his Rangers, was
assigned perhaps the most difficult task of all, the cap-
ture of Mount Defiance. On the night of September
16, or very early in the morning of September 17, Allen
started, and three hoots of an owl was the signal agreed
upon to keep the party together in the darkness of the
night. So excellent was the mimicry that those not in
the secret did not suspect that the call of the owl was an
imitation. Up the steep slopes, over the rocky crags,
swarmed Captain Allen's men, until the summit was in
sight, when a cliff was reached that could not be scaled
in the ordinary manner. Directing one of his men to
stoop, Allen stepped upon his back and surmounted the
rock, the others following. It was found that only
eight men could be secreted without exposing the party
to the enemy stationed on the height, and armed with
cannon. Giving utterance to ''a hideous yell" Allen
started, his men following, to use his own expression,
"like a stream of hornets to the charge." A fire of
musketry was opened and most of the garrison, not
killed or wounded, fled down the trail to Ticonderoga.
One gunner attempted to discharge his cannon, but
Allen fired at him with a musket, exclaiming with an
oath: "Kill the gunner," and the latter, frightened,
fled with a match in his hand. At the foot of the slope
the Mount Defiance garrison was captured by Major
Wait. Captain Allen never had discharged a cannon,
but he fired several shots before quitting the summit,
and, according to Ira Allen, he killed one man and drove
158 , HISTORY OF VERMONT
a ship from her moorings. Before Allen descended the
mountain, he proclaimed himself commandant of Mount
Defiance.
At daybreak on Wednesday morning, September 17,
Colonel Brown began his attack at the north end of
Lake George after an all night march, capturing the
landing and considerable shipping. Without loss of
time a considerable portion of his force was ordered to
attack the post at the mills, which was held by a
larger force than that defeated at the landing, most of
the garrison being made prisoners. Lieutenant Lord,
who held the blockhouse,, offered a stubborn resistance,
but surrendered when several cannon taken from a cap-
tured sloop had been brought to bear on the position.
Mount Hope and the old French lines were captured,
and a summons to surrender was sent to General Powel,
the British commandant at Ticonderoga, worded "in
strong, peremptory terms." His reply was short, but
to the point, saying: "The garrison committed to my
charge I shall defend to the last." General Warner
did not think it prudent to attack Mount Independence,
where reinforcements had been received, and it was not
considered wise to attempt the capture of Ticonderoga
with the forces available.
Colonel Brown reported his losses as less than ten
killed and wounded (three or four killed and five
wounded). He had captured two hundred and ninety-
three prisoners, including two Captains, eleven minor
officers, one hundred and forty-three British and one
hundred and nineteen Canadian soldiers and eighteen
artificers, besides recapturing more than one hundred
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 159
American prisoners, taken in the battle of Hubbardton.
He had also taken one hundred and fifty bateaux on
Lake Champlain, and at Lake George Landing, fifty-
craft including seventeen gunboats and one armed
sloop. Some ammunition and arms, including a few
pieces of artillery, were captured, which were used
against the enemy.
With the sloop and gunboats taken, Colonel Brown
attempted to capture the British post on Diamond
Island, in Lake George, held by Captain Aubrey and
two companies of the Forty-seventh regiment, who
guarded a large quantity of public property. The attack
was delayed for two or three days on account of stormy
weather, and this gave the enemy opportunity to fortify
the post so thoroughly that the attempt to take it was
abandoned after a brief engagement, the losses being
small. Colonel Brown burned his boats and marched
to Skenesborough, where he met General Warner and a
part of the other troops engaged in the general move-
ment, some of them having returned by way of Castle-
ton. The Berkshire county militia, raised for twenty
days, were discharged, leaving the Rangers raised "on
the Grants" at Pawlet. Col. Seth Warner's regiment
with "the militia of the Grants," were left at White
Creek, N. Y.
The Council of Safety in session at Bennington
thanked Colonel Herrick for his "spirited behavior in
this affair," and particularly for his "late noble inter-
prise at Lake George Landing, Ticonderoga, and for de-
stroying the enemy's water craft in general, to the great
disadvantage of the enemy."
160 HISTORY OF VERMONT
On the same day that the attacks were made in the
vicinity of Ticonderoga, General Lincoln, with about
seven hundred men, marched to Skenesborough, intend-
ing, he says, to move towards North River, but receiv-
ing information from General Gates that the British
had abandoned certain posts in their rear, he changed
his policy, and on the way back, near Pawlet, he re-
ceived two expresses from General Gates, ordering him
to proceed to Stillwater. He left Pawlet on Sunday,
September 21, reaching Stillwater Monday night, his
force of some twelve hundred or fourteen hundred
troops arriving September 23.
According to General Lincoln's statement, the troops
under his command "on the Grants" numbered about
three thousand, including one small regiment of Conti-
nental troops, "the Rangers from the Grants and part
of their militia," and the Massachusetts troops, some of
whom were enlisted for three months, and others for
only twenty days. Gen. Jacob Bayley, whom Lincoln
called "an experienced and good officer," was left in
command at Castleton, with fifteen hundred men to
guard that region and attend to the forwarding of sup-
plies, and on Sunday, September 2\, he took about one
hundred prisoners.
General Bayley, on September 21, writing of the vic-
tory at Ticonderoga, declared: "The field is now
opened wide, the time is now come that we may entirely
cut off General Burgoyne's whole army if we exert our-
selves. * * * J think it is the duty of every man
to turn out with his horse & one month's provisions.
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 161
* * * I must call on all friends to America to turn
out and come to our assistance at Ticonderoga."
The next day, September 22, he wrote that the field
of operations was too large for the force at his dis-
posal, and he requested that all the militia above
Charlestown, N. H., and eastward march to his assist-
ance, with horses, bringing flour and beef to last them
for one month, adding, "by which time I hope the whole
of Genl. Burgoyne's army will be in our hands." He
sent about one hundred prisoners to New Hampshire,
and so short was his supply of food that he was obliged
to request that provisions be sent out to meet the prison-
ers and their guards, about one hundred and fifty men
in all "as far as one day's travel from hence, as we have
none to spare."
Some Vermont troops assisted General Gates in his
campaign on the Hudson. As early as August 29, at
the request of General Lincoln, the Council of Safety
voted "That three hundred and twenty-five men of the
militia of this State should be raised for the defence of
this and the United States of America" ; and fifty shil-
lings per month were granted in addition to the Conti-
nental pay, because "the price of all kinds of provisions
and clothing are raised to exorbitant prices." On Sep-
tember 22, the Council ordered Capt. Jonas Galusha
with fifty men from Col. Moses Robinson's regiment, to
repair to General Gates' headquarters. The Vermont
records show that Col. Peter Olcott's regiment was in
the service of the Northern department and Capt. Frye
Bayley's company in that regiment captured on the Hud-
son River fifteen boats loaded with supplies for Bur-
162 HISTORY OF VERMONT
goyne's army. Colonel Warner's Continental regiment
also joined General Gates' army.
The plans laid by Lord George Germaine, Secretary
of State for the Colonies, provided that Burgoyne
should advance as far as Albany. Orders were written
directing Gen. William Howe, a brother of Lord Howe,
killed near Lake George in the French and Indian War,
and of Admiral Lord Howe, who succeedeed to the title,
to go up the Hudson from New York and join Bur-
goyne at that place. After they were written his lord-
ship went to Kent on a visit, and upon his return he for-
got to sign the orders, which were pigeon-holed until
May 18, 1777. They did not reach Howe until August
16, when he was gone on an expedition to Chesa-
peake Bay, and it was then too late to attempt a junction
of forces at Albany.
Schuyler was superseded as commander of the North-
ern American army by Gates, and General Lincoln was
called to his aid. Burgoyne was soon hemmed in, his
communications were cut, and his army was in immi-
nent danger of starvation. His last dispatches were
sent from Fort Edward during the first week in Sep-
tember.
Reidesel and Eraser favored a retreat toward Lake
George and Ticonderoga, but it was too late to retreat.
The army that had advanced up Lake Champlain so
proudly in the early summer, with music and banners,
was now compelled to fight for its life, was defeated in
a series of battles, and was obliged to surrender on
October 17.
THE BATTLE OF BENNINGTON 163
George the Third had erred in his jubilant remark
to his Queen regarding the victory on Lake Champlain.
He had not "beaten all the Americans" when Ticon-
deroga was taken.
Major Wait took possession of Mount Independence
but found that the British had sunk their boats, spiked
or broken forty cannon, and burned barracks, houses,
and bridges. The Americans did not attempt to reoc-
cupy Ticonderoga, and the British continued to control
the lake.
With Burgoyne's downfall, the British troops
stationed on Lakes George and Champlain, with the ex-
ception of one or two small posts near the northern
border, hastily retreated to Canada. Near the mouth
of the Boquet River the rear guard was overtaken and
attacked by Capt. Ebenezer Allen with fifty Rangers,
who captured forty-nine men, a large amount of bag-
gage and military stores, about one hundred horses and
some cattle. Among Allen's prisoners was Dinah
Mattis, a Negro slave, and her infant child. Allen gave
her a written certificate of emancipation, which was
recorded in the Town Clerk's office at Bennington,
which reads as follows:
"Head Quarters Pollet
"28th of November, 1777
"To Whom it may Concern Know Ye Whereas Dinah
Mattis, a negro woman with Nancey her Child of two
months old was taken Prisoner on Lake Champlain,
with the British Troops some where near Col. Gilliner's
(Gilliland's) Patten the Twelth day of Instant Novem-
ber by a Scout under my Command, and according to a
164 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Resolve Past by the Honourable Continental Congress
that all Prisses (prizes) belong to the Captivators
thereof — therefore She and her Child became the just
Property of the Captivators thereof — I being Conscihen-
tious that it is not Right in the Sight of god to keep
Slaves — I therefore obtaining leave of the Detachment
under my Command to give her and her Child their
freedom I do therefore give the said Dinah mattis and
Nancy her Child there freedom to pass and Repass
any where through the United States of America with
her Behaving as becometh and to Trade and to Traffick
for her Self and Child as tho' She was Born free with-
out being Mollested by any Person or Persons.
"In witness whereunto I have set my hand or sub-
scribed by name.
(Signed) EbEnKz'r Ali^En, Capt."
As an exercise in English the document hardly would
be considered a notable success ; but it stands, neverthe-
less, as a landmark in the progress of human freedom,
for it contained a declaration against slavery at a time
when involuntary servitude was everywhere permitted
on the American Continent, the Vermont Constitution
forbidding slavery not having gone into effect.
Chapter XX
EARLY CONVENTIONS
THE government of the region now known as Ver-
mont in the years immediately following the
establishment of its early settlements differed
in important particulars from the form in effect during
the pioneer period of other States of the American
Union. Vermont never was a crown colony, nor was
it ever granted as a separate governmental entity by any
monarch or by any State, although there is some evi-
dence to show that such a step was contemplated just
before the outbreak of the American Revolution. The
first English grants of townships within the present
limits of the State were made by the Massachusetts Bay
Colony in the Connecticut River valley, when its juris-
diction was supposed to extend over that region.
Although a large part of Vermont's present area was
granted by Governor Wentworth of New Hampshire
during the four or five years following the close of the
French and Indian War, very little authority was exer-
cised for several years in the townships. With the dec-
laration by the British Government that the colony of
New York extended westward from Lake Champlain
to the Connecticut River, the shadow of New Hampshire
authority vanished. The attempt of New York, con-
trary to royal orders, to grant again lands already
granted by Governor Wentworth, and the bitter contro-
versy thus aroused, have been described in previous
chapters.
The pioneers did not need much government. The
local authority was vested in the proprietors of the sev-
eral townships and most of the early meetings were held
in the Connecticut or Massachusetts towns in which
168 HISTORY OF VERMONT
some of the principal proprietors resided. In most in-
stances several years elapsed between the granting of
townships and the organization of town governments.
In fact only a small number of Vermont towns, about
forty, possessed regularly organized municipal govern-
ments prior to the War for Independence.
For a few years New York exercised a limited
authority in a portion of the region now known as Ver-
mont. In the inhabited townships east of the Green
Mountains the machinery of government was set up and
operated to some extent until the outbreak of the Revo-
lutionary War, but the land controversy prevented the
exercise of more than a very limited Colonial authority
— so limited as to be almost negligible — west of the
Green Mountains.
The settlers on the Wentworth grants, as already
shown, defended their rights with great boldness and
vigor against the encroachments of New York. As a
part of the policy of defence, local committees of safety
were organized and conventions were called for the pro-
tection of the property of settlers. It was an easy
matter to continue or to elaborate Committees of Safety
and conventions summoned for military purposes.
Thus something corresponding to a rudimentary form
of government had been set up, not by design, but as a
matter of necessity, in a region over which no American
colony exercised any considerable authority. The situa-
tion was a novel one and with the growth of population
this improvised government could not continue long.
The New Hampshire Grants, so-called, on the verge of
civil war with New York over land titles, suddenly
EARLY CONVENTIONS 169
exchanged one quarrel for another by uniting infor-
mally with the American Colonies in resisting the
authority of Great Britain, thus postponing temporarily
the day of settlement with the powerful neighbor to the
westward.
Late in the year 1775 several warrants or notifica-
tions were sent "up the country," calling a general meet-
ing of the people of the New Hampshire Grants, to be
held at the tavern of Cephas Kent, in Dorset, on the
first Tuesday of January, 1776. As it was considered
necessary that Col. Seth Warner with others should
attend, and military service made this impossible on the
date set, it was decided to postpone the meeting.
Another warrant was issued December 20, 1775,
signed by Moses Robinson, Samuel Robinson, Seth
Warner, Jeremiah Clark, Martin Powell, Daniel Smith
and Jonathan Willard, as a committee, setting forth the
date and purpose of the convention as follows : —
"This is therefore to warn the inhabitants on the said
New Hampshire Grants west of the Range of Green
Mountains to meet together by their Delegates from
each Town at the house of Mr. Cephas Kent in said
Dorset on the sixteenth day of January next at nine
o'clock in the morning, then and there to act on the Fol-
lowing Articles (Viz.)
"1st to Choose a Moderator or Chairman for said Meet-
ing.
"2nd to Choose a Clark (clerk) for said Meeting.
"3rd to see if the Law of New York shall have free
Circulation where it doth not infringe on our properties,
170 HISTORY OF VERMONT
or Title of Lands, or Riots (so-called) in Defence of the
same.
"4th to see if the said Convention will Come into some
proper Regulations or take some Method to suppress all
Schismattick Mobbs that have or may arise on said
Grants.
"5th to see if they will Choose an agent, or agents, to
send to the Continental Congress.
"6th to see whether the Convention will consent to asso-
ciate with New Yorkers, or by themselves, in the Cause
of America."
The Inn of Cephas Kent at which this convention was
called was destined to become nearly, if not quite, as
famous a meeting place as the Catamount Tavern in
Bennington. Cephas Kent not only was a popular inn
keeper, but was also a deacon in the local church and
an active patriot. Dorset was a central point where
delegates might assemble from the towns located in
what are now Rutland and Bennington counties, in
which most of the settlers west of the Green Mountains
then resided. It was on the route from Rutland,
Crown Point, Ticonderoga and Skenesborough to Ben-
nington and Albany.
When the representatives of the towns in the New
Hampshire Grants west of the Green Mountains met at
the inn of Mr. Kent in Dorset, January 16, 1776, they
organized by electing Capt. Joseph Woodward of
Castleton, chairman; Dr. Jonas Fay of Bennington,
clerk; Col. Moses Robinson, Samuel McCoon (McCune)
and Oliver Evits (Everts), assistant clerks. The con-
vention then elected a committee consisting of Thomas
EARLY CONVENTIONS 171
Ashley, William Marsh, Heman Allen, Abel Moulton,
Moses Robinson, John McLane, Gamaliel Painter,
James Hurd (Hard) and Joseph Bowker to examine
and report their opinion to the convention concerning
the third article of the warrant, which related to the
adoption of such laws of New York as did not deal with
matters in controversy. Adjournment then was taken
until three o'clock in the afternoon.
Upon reassembling it was voted to add four persons
to the committee on the third article. It was decided
to reconsider the last two votes (probably the last two
names on the committee) ; to lay on the table a com-
munication relative to Captain Bowker's character; and
that two persons from each town represented be allowed
to vote in the meeting. Adjournment was taken until
eight o'clock the next morning.
Evidently the charges against Joseph Bowker of Rut-
land could not have been serious as he held later many
positions of responsibility in town and State.
On the morning of January 17, Capt. Heman Allen,
Capt. Joseph Bowker, Col. Moses Robinson, John
McLane and Col. Timothy Brownson were appointed
to report the number of members that should be appor-
tioned to each town. Captain Bowker acting as chair-
man. The committee reported as follows: Pownal,
four; Bennington, seven; Shaftsbury, four; Arling-
ton, three; Sunderland, two; Manchester, four; Dorset,
two; Danby, three; Tinmouth, two; Clarendon, four;
Rutland, three; Pittsford, two; Rupert, two; Wells,
one; Pawlet, one; Poultney, two; Castleton, two;
Neshobe (Brandon), one. Each other inhabited town
172 HISTORY OF VERMONT
was to have one or more members, according to popula-
tion. This report was accepted without opposition.
Lieut. James Breakenridge, Capt. Heman Allen and
Dr. Jonas Fay were appointed a committee to present
to the Continental Congress a remonstrance and petition
from the inhabitants of the New Hampshire Grants.
The committee appointed, with Col. William Marsh and
Thomas Rowley, were designated a committee to pre-
pare the remonstrance and petition. The agents to
Congress were allowed "their reasonable costs."
Committees from the northern and southern portions
of the district were appointed with power to warn gen-
eral meetings of the committees on the Grants when in-
telligence received should warrant such action. The
northern committee consisted of Col. John Strong,
Zadock Everest, and Asahel Ward of Addison; and the
southern committee of Simeon Hathaway, Elijah
Dewey, and James Breakenridge of Bennington. The
several committees of correspondence were instructed to
continue their duties as usual. This item of business
indicates that another convention, possibly other conven-
tions, had been held concerning which no record has
been preserved. It has been suggested that a previous
convention may have appointed the committee which
called this convention at the inn of Cephas Kent.
Money to the amount of £1, 2s., 5 d was received
from Poultney, Pitts ford and Rupert, toward defray-
ing the expenses of the delegates appointed to attend
Congress.
Capt. Heman Allen, eldest brother of Ethan and Ira
Allen, was delegated to present the remonstrance and
EARLY CONVENTIONS 173
petition of the people of the New Hampshire Grants to
the Continental Congress, which duty he performed
May 8, 1776.
In the opening portion of the document it was stated :
"That your honors' petitioners being fully sensible and
deeply afifected with the very alarming situation in
which the united colonies are involved, by means of a
designing ministry, who have flagrantly used, and are
still using their utmost efforts to bring the inhabitants
of this very extensive Continent of America into a base
and servile subjection to arbitrary power contrary to
all the most sacred ties and obligations by covenant and
the well known constitution by which the British Empire
ought to be governed ; your petitioners ( not to be prolix,
or waste time) when the whole Continent are in so dis-
agreeable situation, would however beg leave to demon-
strate in as short terms as possible the very peculiar
situation in which your petitioners have for a series of
years been exercised, and are still struggling."
The controversy with New York was rehearsed and
attention was called to the services rendered by the
people of the Grants since the outbreak of the war.
The petition closed by declaring: "While we your
petitioners are thus earnestly engaged we beg leave to
say that we are entirely willing to do all in our power
in the general cause under the Continental Congress, and
have been ever since the taking of Ticonderoga, etc., in
which your petitioners were principally active, under
the command of Col. Ethan Allen, but are not willing
to put ourselves under the honorable, the provincial Con-
gress of New York in such manner as might in future
174 HISTORY OF VERMONT
be detrimental to our private property; as the oath to
be administered to those who are, or shall be entrusted
with commissions from said Congress, and the associa-
tion agreed upon by the same authority, together with
some particular restrictions and orders for regulating
the militia of said province (if conformed to by the
inhabitants of said New Hampshire Grants) will (as
we apprehend) be detrimental to your petitioners in the
determination of the dispute now subsisting between
your said petitioners and certain claimants under
N. York. And that your petitioners' ardent desires of
exerting themselves in the present struggle for freedom
may not be restrained, and that we might engage in the
Glorious Cause without fear of giving our opponents
any advantage in the said land dispute, which we would
wish to have lie dormant until a general restoration of
tranquility shall allow as the opportunity for an equit-
able decision of the same.
"Another reason that much hinders us from joining
New York hand in hand in the General Cause is they
will not own us in our property, but on the contrary, the
judges of their Supreme Court have expressly declared
the charters, conveyance, etc., of your petitioners' lands
to be null and void.
"Therefore we your honors' humble petitioners most
earnestly pray your honors to take our case into your
wise consideration and order that for the future your
petitioners shall do duty in the Continental service (if
required) as inhabitants of said New Hampshire
Grants, and not as inhabitants of the province of New
York, or subject to the limitations, restrictions, or regu-
EARLY CONVENTIONS 175
lations of the militia of said province, and that commis-
sions as your honors shall judge meet be granted accord-
ingly, and as in duty bound your honors' petitioners
shall ever pray."
It will be noted that this petition did not go so far
as to call for the recognition of a new State, but asked
merely that the region known as the New Hampshire
Grants be left alone until the end of the war, that the
land dispute might be judged upon its merits.
The petition having been read in Congress, it was
referred to a committee of five Southern members,
Messrs. Rodney of Delaware, Harrison of Virginia,
Hewes of North Carolina, Lynch of South Carolina and
Alexander of Maryland, probably for the reason that
members from those colonies would be more likely to
be unprejudiced than Representatives living nearer the
parties concerned. Mr. Allen was granted a hearing
by the committee and on May 30, 1776, the following
resolution was reported:
"Resolved, That it is the opinion of this committee,
that it be recommended to the petitioners for the pres-
ent to submit to the government of New York, and con-
tribute their assistance with their countrymen in the
contest between Great Britain and the United Colonies ;
but that such submission ought not to prejudice the
rights of them or others to the lands in controversy, or
any part of them; nor be construed to affirm or admit
the jurisdiction of New York in and over the country;
and when the present troubles are at end, the final deter-
mination of their right may be mutually referred to
proper judges."
176 HISTORY OF VERMONT
This was not the kind of report desired, and before
the resolution was put upon its passage Mr. Allen asked,
and was given leave to withdraw the petition, for the
reason, according to the official journal ''that he had
left at home some papers and vouchers necessary to
support the allegations therein contained." It requires
no great sagacity to assume that Allen made this excuse
in order to prevent the possibility of the adoption of
the resolution.
A warrant was issued on June 24, 1776, signed by
three residents of Bennington, James Breakenridge,
Simeon Hathaway and Elijah Dewey, *'to warn the
several inhabitants of the New Hampshire Grants on
the west side and to desire those on the east side" to
choose delegates to a general convention to be held, like
its predecessor, at the inn of Cephas Kent, in Dorset,
Wednesday morning, July 24, at eight o'clock. The
principal business of the convention was to hear the
report of Capt. Heman Allen, delegate to the Conti-
nental Congress ; "to know the minds of the Convention
relative to their associating with the province of New
Hampshire"; if such an association should not be de-
sired, "whether said Convention will agree to an asso-
ciation (not repugnant to that of the Continental Con-
gress) and subscribe thereto, to do duty in conjunction
with the Continental troops (only) as members of the
district of land which they inhabit"; to see if the Con-
vention would recommend to the field officers nominated
that their men "be forthwith furnished with suitable
arms, ammunition and accoutrements," in compliance
with a resolution of the Continental Congress; to see
EARLY CONVENTIONS 177
if the Convention would make provision for Capt.
Heman Allen's expenses in attendance upon the Conti-
nental Congress; "and to transact any other (business)
that shall be thought necessary in the power of sd Con-
vention for the safety of the liberties of the colonies in
general and the New Hampshire Grants in particular."
The membership of the convention, unlike that of the
first held at Dorset, is given in the official record, and
was as follows: Pownal, Capt. Samuel Wright; Ben-
nington, Simeon Hathaway, Jonas Fay, John Burnam,
Jr.; Shaftsbury, Maj. Jeremiah Clark, John Burnam;
Sunderland, Joseph Bradley; Manchester, Col. William
Marsh, Lieut. Martin Powell, Gideon Ormsby; Dorset,
John Manley, Abraham Underbill; Rupert, Reuben
Harmon, Amos Curtis; Pawlet, Capt. William Fitch,
Maj. Roger Rose; Wells, Daniel Culver, Ogden Mal-
lory ; Poultney, Nehemiah Howe, William Ward ; Castle-
ton, Ephraim Buel, Jesse Belknap; Hubbardton, Benja-
min Hickok; Sudbury, John Gage; Bridport, Samuel
Benton; Addison, Col. John Strong; Cornwall, James
Bentley; Burlington, Lemuel Bradley; Stamford,
Thomas Morgan; Williston, Col. Thomas Chittenden;
Jericho, Brown Chamberlain; Colchester, Ira Allen;
Hinesburgh and Monkton, Isaac Lawrence; Neshobe
(Brandon), John Mott; Pittsford, Aaron Powers, Jona-
than Rowley, Jonathan Fassett; Rutland, Asa Johnson,
Joseph Bowker; Clarendon, Thomas Brayton; Walling-
ford, Matthew Lyon, Abraham Jackson; Tinmouth,
Ebenezer Allen, Stephen Royce; Danby, Capt. Micah
Veal (Vail), William Gage; Townshend, Capt. Samuel
178 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Fletcher, Josiah Fish; Middleborough (probably Mid-
dlebury), Capt. Heman Allen.
Joseph Bowker of Rutland was elected chairman and
Dr. Jonas Fay of Bennington, clerk.
Heman Allen then related how the remonstrance and
petition had been presented to Hon. John Hancock,
president of Congress, and was read by the secretary.
Although the New York delegate tried to oppose the
petition, it was entered on file and was ordered to lie on
the table for further consideration. Acting upon the
advice of "several gentlemen" he made a motion to with-
draw his petition in order "that the delegates from New
York should not have it in their power to bring the mat-
ter to a final decision at a time when the Convention in
the Grants had no proper delegate in the House." The
motion, therefore, was entered on the minutes.
Captain Allen further related that "he had many pri-
vate conferences with sundry members of Congress and
other gentlemen of distinction relating to the particular
circumstances and situation of the New Hampshire
Grants, who did severally recommend that the inhabit-
ants of said Grants exert themselves to their utmost
abilities to repel by force the hostile invasion of the
British flleets and armies, and that said inhabitants do
not by any way or means whatsoever connect or asso-
ciate with the honorable Provincial Congress of New
York, or any authority derived from, by or under them
directly or indirectly, but that the said inhabitants do
forthwith consult suitable measures to associate and
unite the whole of the inhabitants of said Grants
together."
EARLY CONVENTIONS 179
The Convention, being sensible that its business re-
quired "the most serious deHberation," adopted rules
governing its proceedings. After postponing action on
several articles of the warrant, adjournment was taken
to the early hour of seven o'clock the following morning.
Upon reassembling on the morning of July 25, the
article relating to associating with the province of New
Hampshire — in reality a union with that province —
after discussion was dismissed.
The first step toward the formation of an independent
State was taken when, with only one dissenting voice,
it was voted "that application be made to the inhabit-
ants of said Grants to form the same into a separate
district." It was voted to recommend to the field offi-
cers of the militia that their men be furnished with
arms, ammunition and accoutrements according to the
plan of the Continental Congress.
Capt. Heman Allen, Col. William Marsh, Dr. Jonas
Fay, acting with Capt. Samuel Fletcher and Joshua
Fish, were appointed a committee to distribute the pro-
ceedings of the Convention in that part of the New
Hampshire Grants east of the Green Mountains and to
consult with the people of that region relative to asso-
ciating themselves "with this body." Dr. Jonas Fay,
Col. Thomas Chittenden and Lieut. Ira Allen were
named as a committee to propose instructions for the
committee of five previously mentioned. Dr. Jonas Fay
and Col. William Marsh were appointed a committee to
prepare a petition to General Schuyler, commander of
the Northern department of the Continental Army, "re-
questing his assistance in guarding the frontier to the
180 HISTORY OF VERMONT
northward" on the New Hampshire Grants, and Col.
Seth Warner and Col. Thomas Chittenden were desig-
nated to present the aforesaid petition. Adjournment
then was taken for one hour.
The following ''Association" was considered and
adopted :
''This Convention, being fully sensible that it is the
will and pleasure of the honorable the Continental Con-
gress, that every honest friend to the liberties of
America in the several United States thereof, should
subscribe an Association, binding themselves as mem-
bers of some body or community to stand in the defence
of those liberties;
"And, Whereas, it has been the usual custom for in-
dividuals to associate with the colony or State which
they are reputed to be members of, yet, nevertheless, the
long and spirited conflict which has for many years sub-
sisted between the Colony, or State of New York and
the inhabitants of that district of land commonly
called and known by the name of the New Hampshire
Grants, relative to the title of land on said district,
renders it inconvenient in many respects to associate
with that Province or State, which has hitherto been
the sole reason of our not subscribing an Association
before this.
"The better, therefore, to convince the public of our
readiness to join in the common defence of the afore-
said liberties, we do publish and subscribe the following
Association, viz.
"We the subscribers, inhabitants of the Districk of
Land, commonly called and known by the name of the
Early Map Showing Route of Bayley-Hazen Military Road
r
V
EARLY CONVENTIONS 181
New Hampshire Grants, do voluntarily and solemnly
engage under all the ties held sacred amongst mankind,
at the risque of our lives and fortunes to defend by
arms the United American States against the hostile
attempts of the British fleets and armies, until the pres-
ent unhappy controversy between the two countries
shall be settled."
The above Association was signed by all the delegates
with the single exception of Thomas Braton (Brayton)
of Clarendon. Only three weeks before this date the
Declaration of Independence had been adopted by the
Continental Congress, and one week earlier General
St. Clair had caused the document to be read to the
American army at Ticonderoga. While it is probable
that news of the momentous step taken at Philadelphia
had reached Dorset in advance of the convening of this
body, time for its consideration had been brief, if, in-
deed, the full text of the Declaration was known to the
delegates.
The Convention recommended to the friends of the
liberties of the United States of America among the in-
habitants of the New Hampshire Grants that they sub-
scribe to the Association and return the same to Jonas
Fay, the clerk, as soon as possible. It was resolved
unanimously that any of the people of the New Hamp-
shire Grants who should subscribe to any Association
other than the one adopted by the Convention should
''be deemed enemies to the common cause of the New
Hampshire Grants."
Dr. Jonas Fay, Col. Timothy Brownson, Col. Wil-
liam Marsh, Capt. Joseph Bowker, Capt. Joseph Wood-
182 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ward, Capt. Micah Vail, Col. Thomas Chittenden, Maj.
Stephen Royce and Capt. Abraham Underhill, were
chosen as a Committee of Appeals, who were "to hear
and determine such matters as may be properly exhibited
to them (in writing) by any of the inhabitants of the
New Hampshire Grants relative to the cause of Ameri-
can liberty, by way of proper appeal from the judgment
of either of the Committees of Safety on said Grants,
any five of which committee to be a quorum.''
The Convention then adjourned to meet at the same
place, Wednesday, September 25, at eight o'clock in the
morning.
At this two days' convention, held at Cephas Kent's
inn in Dorset, in which forty-nine delegates represent-
ing thirty-two towns participated, the foundations were
laid for an independent commonwealth and a State of
the American Union. In solemn and impressive lan-
guage the convention pledged support to the new Ameri-
can Nation; rejected a plan to become a part of New
Hampshire; and refused to heed the advice of the Con-
tinental Congress to submit temporarily, at least, to the
authority of New York.
It is not to be supposed that such an important step
was taken hastily or blindly. Little material is avail-
able to show the state of public opinion at this time, but,
fortunately, one statement is in existence, written by Ira
Allen, a member of the Dorset Convention of July
24-25, 1776, and the following description of affairs is
quoted from his "History of Vermont":
"Several conferences were held among the leaders of
the people concerning the establishment of civil govern-
EARLY CONVENTIONS 183
ment; some were for returning and joining with New
Hampshire, supposing that would secure the titles of
their lands, notwithstanding the subsequent and illegal
grants of the Governor of New York; others were dis-
posed to form a new State, including all the district of
the New Hampshire Grants west of the Connecticut
River, while some were for joining with New York
during the war ; this idea too much affected the property
of the settlers. For the time being, as liberty was the
reigning passion, they cordially united in self-defence
and in the support of Congress. * * *
"In the beginning of the year 1776, four of the lead-
ing men conferred on measures to be recommended to
the people for the establishment of a civil government,
which appeared necessary effectually to carry on the
war, raise men and money, and to secure the titles of the
lands against the latent intentions of the Governor of
New York. These men differed in opinion about a plan,
though all were convinced that their and the country's
interest required a connection with New Hampshire, or
an establishment of a new government; no one of them
dreamed of ever associating with New York, whose late
persecuting conduct and system of government rendered
that colony the most detestable of any on earth.
"The arguments in favor of a new government were,
they did not like any connection with a colony, which,
by act of a royal Governor, had too easily consented to
part with territory, contrary to the interest and wishes
of the people, and who might hereafter expose them-
selves to the evil intentions of the colony of New York.
That by such a connection they should lose all the glory
184 HISTORY OF VERMONT
and credit they had gained in their exertions against
the Governor and Council of New York. That a new
government would perpetuate the name of the Green
Mountain Boys and the honor of their leaders. That
a new government would infallibly establish the title of
their lands under the New Hampshire Grants ; and that
the unappropriated lands might be disposed of to defray
the expenses of government and the war. That as a
separate government, in the course of events, they might
find ways and means to retaliate on the monopolists of
New York. That the active and offensive part taken
at an early period of the war, in taking Ticonderoga,
Crown Point and St. Johns, would make them conse-
quential in the eyes of Congress as friends of the Amer-
ican revolution. That, nothwithstanding, the influence
of New York might for a time prevent the new govern-
ment from a representation in Congress, yet it might
not eventually hurt the interest of the people. That the
district of the New Hampshire Grants, on revolution-
ary principles, was the oldest in America. That the
people had governed themselves by committees of safety
and conventions, against the oppressions and tyranny
of New York, eight years before the colonists of Amer-
ica took similar measures against Great Britain; of
course the people ought to preserve and brave every
danger that might be in the womb of futurity. The
result of those deliberations was to establish a new gov-
ernment; accordingly great care was taken to prepare
the minds of the people for such an event."
Allen does not mention the names of the "four lead-
ing men" who laid plans for the formation of a State,
EARLY CONVENTIONS 185
but it is safe to assume in the light of subsequent events
that he was one of them, and not the least influential
of the four. Probably Thomas Chittenden was an-
other of the quartette. The motives which actuated the
leaders in planning the formation of a new government
are given with greater frankness than usually is discov-
ered in descriptions of the founding of a State. Prob-
ably if the whole truth were told many other leaders
have been animated by motives just as mixed and quite
as human as those which moved Ira Allen and his col-
leagues.
The convention which met at Cephas Kent's inn at
Dorset, September 25, 1776, has been called .an ad-
journed meeting, but some changes had been made in
membership and several towns east of the Green Moun-
tains were represented on this occasion. Captain
Bowker again presided and Doctor Fay officiated as sec-
retary. Thirty- five towns were represented by fifty-
eight delegates, as follows: Pownal, Capt. Samuel
Wright, Dr. Obadiah Dunham; Bennington, Simeon
Hathaway, Dr. Jonas Fay, Capt. John Burnam, Jr.,
Nathan Clark, Maj. Samuel Safford, Col. Moses Robin-
son; Shaftsbury, Maj. Jeremiah Clark, John Burnam;
Sunderland, Lieut. Joseph Bradley, Col. Timothy
Brownson; Manchester, Col. William Marsh, Lieut.
Martin Powell, Lieut. Gideon Ormsby; Dorset, John
Manley, Abraham Underbill; Rupert, Reuben Harmon,
Amos Curtis; Pawlet, Capt. William Fitch, Maj. Roger
Rose; Wells, Zaccheus Mallory; Poultney, Nehemiah
Howe, William Ward; Castleton, Capt. Joseph Wood-
ward; Bridport, Samuel Benton; Addison, David Val-
186 HISTORY OF VERMONT
lance; Stamford, Thomas Morgan; Williston, Col.
Thomas Chittenden; Colchester, Capt. Ira Allen; Mid-
dlebury, Gamaliel Painter; Burlington, Lemuel Brad-
ley; Neshobe (Brandon), Capt. Timothy Barker,
Thomas Tuttle; Rutland, Capt. Joseph Bowker, Col.
James Mead; Wallingford, Abraham Ives; Tinmouth,
Capt. Ebenezer Allen, Maj. Thomas Rice; Danby, Capt.
Micah Veal (Vail), William Gage; Panton, John Gale;
Bromley (Peru), Capt. William Utley. Col. Seth
Warner and Capt. Heman Allen were present.
East Side towns were represented as follows : Marl-
boro, Capt. Francis V/hitmore; Guilford, Col. Benja-
min Carpenter, Maj. John Shepardson; Windsor,
Ebenezer Hoisington; Kent (Londonderry), Edward
Aiken, Col. James Rogers; Rockingham, Dr. Reuben
Jones; Dummerston, Joseph Hildreth, Lieut. Leonard
Spaulding; Westminster, Joshua Webb, Nathaniel Rob-
inson; Wilmington or Draper, by a letter; Cumberland,
by a letter; Halifax, Col. Benjamin Carpenter.
The records of the January Convention were read for
the benefit of the East Side delegates. Adjournment
was taken until the next morning, Thursday, September
26.
On Thursday morning the convention took up the
article providing that the district known as the New
Hampshire Grants be formed into a separate district,
adopted at the previous session of the convention, and
it was passed again, this time without a dissenting vote.
Col. William Marsh, Dr. Jonas Fay, Dr. Reuben Jones,
Capt. Ira Allen, Col. Thomas Chittenden, Col. Benjamin
Carpenter and Col. James Rogers were appointed a com-
EARLY CONVENTIONS 187
mittee "to form a plan for the future proceedings and
report to this Convention as soon as may be."
At the afternoon session a sub-committee, of which
Col. Benjamin Carpenter of Halifax was chairman, re-
ported that in its opinion the members of the Conven-
tion, for themselves and their constituents, ought to
enter into a covenant or compact to regulate the militia,
and to furnish troops for the defence of the liberties of
America, according to their ability; to return the num-
ber of inhabitants of the district to the Continental
Congress, "and at all times be governed by their coun-
cils" ; that a number of men be elected to wait on the
Continental Congress for the presentation of petitions;
to make provision for notifying all the inhabitants on
each side of the Green Mountains that they might have
the opportunity of joining in the formation of a separate
State; that any New York laws temporarily accepted
from New York State should not be held binding in the
future; that measures be adopted "for the better secur-
ing of the Tories" in the district; that the militia offi-
cers, after executing the orders received from the State
of New York, should be under the direction of the Con-
vention. At its afternoon session the Convention voted
to accept the report of the sub-committee.
It was also voted that the members of the Convention
should make and subscribe to a covenant or compact
"for the security of their common liberties and prop-
erties in conjunction with the free and independent
States of America." Dr. Jonas Fay, Col. Moses Rob-
inson, Col. William Marsh, Ebenezer Hoisington, Dr.
Reuben lones, Col. Thomas Chittenden and Dr. Obadiah
188 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Dunham were appointed a committee to draw up such
a compact and report to the Convention.
When the session opened Friday morning, September
27, at eight o'clock — an hour which indicates the early
rising proclivities of the members — the committee re-
ported the covenant or compact or association as the
report was variously called. The text of this, one of
the most important documents connected with Ver-
mont's Declaration of Independence, follows:
"Whereas the Convention have for a series of years
had under their particular considerations the dis-
engenuous conduct of the former colony (now the
State) of New York toward the inhabitants of that dis-
trict of Land commonly called and known by the name
of the New Hampshire Grants, and the several illegal,
unjustifiable and unreasonable Measures they have taken
to Deprive by fraud, violence and oppression those in-
habitants of their property and in particular their
Landed interest; and as this Convention have reason to
expect a Continuance of the same kind of disingenuity
unless some measures effectually be taken to form the
sd District into a separate and Distinct one from New
York and whereas it at present appears to this Conven-
tion that for the foregoing Reasons, together with the
distance of road which lies between this district and
New York that it will be very inconvenient for those
inhabitants to associate or Connect with them for the
time being directly or indirectly.
"Therefore this Convention being fully convinced
that it is necessary that every individual in the United
States of America should exert themselves to their
EARLY CONVENTIONS 189
utmost Abilities in the defence of the Liberties thereof
and that this Convention may the better satisfy the Pub-
lick of their punctual attachment to the said common
Cause at present as well as heretofore we do make and
subscribe the following Covenant (viz.)
"We the subscribers, inhabitants of that district of
Lands commonly called and known by the name of the
New Hampshire Grants, being- legally Delegated and
Authorized to transact the public and political affairs
of the aforesaid District of Lands, for ourselves and
Constituents do solemnly Covenant and engage that for
the time being we will strictly and Religiously Adhere
to the several Resolves of this or a future Convention
Constituted in sd District by the free voice of the
Friends to American Liberties that shall not be repug-
nant to the Resolves of the Honorable Continental Con-
gress Relative to the General Cause of America."
There appears in Vol. 4 of the Documentary History
of New York a "Declaration of a Convention Held at
Dorset, September 25, 1775," which is the same dec-
laration as that reported at the Dorset Convention
which met September 25, 1776, with the omission of the
word covenant near the end of the second paragraph,
although the spelling is more incorrect. Three names
are signed which do not appear in the list of the mem-
bership of the Dorset Convention of 1776 and some
names that appear in that list do not appear among
those subscribed to the so-called 1775 Declaration.
Some persons have believed that a convention was held,
as indicated in the Documentary History, which drew
up a covenant similar to that which appears in the pro-
190 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ceedings of the convention held a year later. There
are, however, several reasons which indicate that the
date given in the Documentary History was incorrect
and points to an error of one figure making the year
1775 when it should have been 1776. Reference is
made to the United States of America and to the State
of New York. No such Nation or State was in exist-
ence on September 25, 1775. A convention was held
at Dorset, June 16, 1776, and among the articles in the
warrant were two which related to the advisability of
giving the laws of New York free circulation in the
New Hampshire Grants where property rights were not
involved and to see whether the people of the Grants
should "associate with New York or by themselves in
the cause of America." Such questions hardly would
have been raised early in 1776 if the attitude toward
New York assumed in the Covenant quoted had been
taken in the autumn of 1775. It is not likely that a
committee to which was delegated the task of drawing
up a Covenant would have reported a document pre-
viously drafted and signed. Such a committee would
have been a superfluity. The internal evidence in the
document itself, the similarity of month and day (Sep-
tember 25) and the text of the Covenant indicate that
the instrument was not written in 1775.
After the report of the committee was made on Sep-
tember 27, 1776, Col. Jacob Bayley, Col. Jacob Kent
of Newbury and Capt. Abner Seeley were appointed a
committee to exhibit the proceedings of the meeting to
the people of Gloucester county; to request that an
"association" left at the county convention held at Thet-
EARLY CONVENTIONS 191
ford, August 13, 1776, to nominate officers for a New
York battalion, be signed; and that delegates be sent to
participate in the new session of the Convention. It
was also recommended to the chairmen of the several
town committees on the west side of the Green Moun-
tains "faithfully to see to it that the Association made
at the last sitting of this Convention be forthwith signed
by every individual male inhabitant of each town from
sixteen years old and upward." Copies of the Associa-
tion signed were to be returned to Dr. Jonas Fay, clerk
of the Convention, before its next meeting; and if any
persons refused to sign their names the reasons for such
refusals were to be taken.
At the afternoon session Col. William Marsh and
Capt. Ira Allen were appointed a committee to go into
Cumberland and Gloucester counties to assist in carry-
ing the proceedings of the Convention, in securing sig-
natures to the Association or Covenant formulated, and
in returning the same.
Dr. Jonas Fay. Dr. Reuben Jones and Col. William
Marsh were appointed a committee to draw up a remon-
strance or petition to send to the Continental Congress.
The report made by Colonel Marsh, the chairman, was
to the efifect that such remonstrance against the author-
ity of New York, which evidently included a petition
for admission as a separate State, be based upon the
attempts of New York to take possession of the lands
held by the settlers in the New Hampshire Grants, and
the distance of the people "from the metropolis of any
State." The report of this committee was adopted.
The same committee was appointed to draw a petition.
192 HISTORY OF VERMONT
and Nathan Clark, Col. Seth Warner and Capt. Heman
Allen were appointed a committee to examine the same.
Attention was given to the transaction of business
relative to the prosecution of the war. Simeon Hath-
away, Dr. Jonas Fay and Nathan Clark of Bennington,
Lieut. Joseph Bradley of Sunderland, Lieut. Martin
Powell of Manchester, Cephas Kent of Dorset, Capt.
Joseph Bowker of Rutland, Capt. Joseph Woodward of
Castleton and Nehemiah Howe of Poultney, all members
of the convention, were appointed a Committee of War.
This committee was given power to issue warrants to
field officers of the militia and to call out the troops
when the exigencies of the occasion should require such
action. Colonies on the west side of the mountain
range were directed to muster their companies, to make
a record of the men on duty and at home, and of their
equipment.
The town committees of safety were given the same
authority that such committees possessed "in any of the
free states of America." It was voted to build a jail
at Manchester "for securing Tories" with Lieut. Martin
Powell as jail keeper. A committee was appointed to
impose fines on all delinquents in the militia, and the
schedule of fines recommended was adopted.
The convention met Saturday morning, September
28, for its last session. The examination of the peti-
tion to the Continental Congress was deferred until the
next meeting; and Dr. Jonas Fay and Col. Thomas
Chittenden were appointed two of four delegates to take
such petition to Philadelphia. A committee was chosen,
consisting of Col. Seth Warner, Capt. Heman Allen,
EARLY CONVENTIONS 193
Capt. Gideon Brownson, Ebenezer Hoisington, Capt.
Abner Seeley and Dr. Jonas Fay, to prepare a message
to send to New York asking if there would be any objec-
tion to setting up a separate State. No person was
authorized to act on town committees of safety who re-
fused to sign the Association reported to the Conven-
tion. Although it was conceded that most of the in-
habitants of the town of Arlington were Tories, the
"Friends of Liberty" were ordered to warn a meeting,
choose a committee of safety, and conduct business after
the manner of other committees ; and if opposition arose,
to call on neighboring towns for assistance. Adjourn-
ment was taken to' Wednesday, October 30, at ten o'clock
in the forenoon, at the Court House at Westminster.
The Convention which assembled at the Westminster
Court House, October 30, in the building made famous
by the massacre of the previous year, was a small
assemblage, only seventeen persons being present as
members. They were Nathan Clark of Bennington,
Col. William Marsh of Manchester, Capt. William
Fitch of Pawlet, Capt. Joseph Bowker of Rutland, Capt.
Ira Allen of Colchester, Capt. Francis Whitmore of
Marlboro, Ebenezer Hoisington of Windsor, Edward
Akins (Aiken) of Kent (Londonderry), Dr. Reuben
Jones of Rockingham, Lieut. Leonard Spaulding and
Joseph Hildreth of Dummerston, Joshua Webb and
Nathaniel Robinson of Westminster, Capt. William
LTtley of Bromley (Peru), Capt. Samuel Fletcher of
Townshend, Dennis Lockland of Putney and Col.
Thomas Chandler of Chester. Ira Allen was elected
clerk, and Joseph Bowker again presided.
194 HISTORY OF VERMONT
After appointing Messrs. Hoisington, Webb, Allen,
Fitch and Jones a committee to draw a plan for fur-
ther proceedings, adjournment was taken until eight
o'clock the following morning. No business of impor-
tance was transacted on Thursday morning and ad-
journment was taken until Friday morning, at which
time the committee reported that owing to the calling
out of the militia for service at Ticonderoga and on the
northern frontier and the unsettled condition of affairs
brought about by the British activity on Lake Cham-
plain, it had been impossible to obtain "the full senti-
ments of the people." It was not considered advisable
under the circumstances to proceed with the completion
of a petition to the Continental Congress. It was
recommended that an answer be made to a pamphlet
dated October 2, 1776, sent by the New York Provincial
Congress to Cumberland county, together with reasons
why it would be advantageous to the people of the New
Hampshire Grants to form a separate State; and that a
manifesto be published in the newspapers, "setting forth
the reasons in easy terms why we choose not to connect
with New York."
The report was accepted, and it was voted that a peti-
tion be drawn to send to the New York Provincial Con-
gress, requesting the approbation of that body for the
formation of the New Hampshire Grants into a separate
State. Col. William Marsh, Capt. Ira Allen, Solomon
Phelps, and Dr. Jonas Fay were appointed a committee
to draft the petition authorized. There is no record
that such a petition ever was presented.
EARLY CONVENTIONS 195
A committee consisting of Maj. Abijah Lovejoy, Col.
William Marsh, Capt. Ira Allen, Col. Jacob Bayley,
Solomon Phelps, Maj. Joseph Tyler, Col. Benjamin
Carpenter, Benjamin Emmons, Elijah Olcott, Dr.
Reuben Jones, and Daniel Jewett, was appointed to
carry the proceedings of the Convention through Cum-
berland and Gloucester counties, and to secure signa-
tures to the "associations" favoring the formation of a
new State. The Convention was then adjourned to
meet in the same place the morning of the third Wednes-
day in January.
The adjourned session met at Westminster, January
15, 1777, and was made up of the following delegates:
Capt. John Burnam, Nathan Clark and Nathan Clark,
Jr., of Bennington, Lieut. Martin Powell, Capt. John
Hall of Castleton, Col. Thomas Chittenden' of Williston,
Capt. Ira Allen of Colchester, Capt. Joseph Bowker and
Capt. Heman Allen of Rutland, Lieut. Leonard Spauld-
ing of Dummerston, Lieut. Dennis Lockland of Putney,
Nathaniel Robinson and Joshua Webb of Westminster,
Capt. Samuel Fletcher of Townshend, Col. Thomas
Chandler of Chester, Dr. Reuben Jones and Lieut.
Moses Wright of Rockingham, Ebenezer Hoisington
of Windsor, Stephen Tilden of Hartford, Benjamin
Emmons of Woodstock, Maj. Thomas Moredock (Mur-
dock) and Joseph Burton of Norwich, Maj. Joseph AVil-
liams and Lieut. Nathaniel Seeley of Pownal. Letters
were also received from Pomfret, Barnard and Royal-
ton favoring the new State. Capt. Joseph Bowker pre-
sided and adjournment was taken until the following
morning.
196 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Leonard Spaulding, Ebenezer Hoisington and
Thomas Murdock were appointed a committee to can-
vass the vote on the formation of a separate State and
reported that more than three-fourths of the people of
Cumberland and Gloucester counties favored a new
State. After an hour's intermission the Convention re-
assembled and adopted the historic and momentous
declaration: "That the district of land commonly
called and known by the name of the New Hampshire
Grants be a new and separate State ; and for the future
conduct themselves as such." Thus, on January 16,
1777, only a little more than six months after the Thir-
teen Colonies declared their independence, the New
Hampshire Grants followed suit.
Nathan Clark, Ebenezer Hoisington, John Burnam,
Jacob Burton and Thomas Chittenden were appointed a
committee to draft a declaration, and Ira Allen, Thomas
Chandler, Reuben Jones, Stephen Tilden and Nathan
Clark, Jr., were directed to draw a plan for further
proceedings. Adjournment then was taken until the
following morning.
The committee to which the matter was referred re-
ported the following declaration:
"Right I. That whenever protection is withheld, no
allegiance is due nor can it of right be demanded.
"2nd. That whenever the lives and properties of a
part of the community have been manifestly aimed at
by either the legislative or executive authority of such
community, necessity requires a separation. Your com-
mittee are of opinion that the foregoing has for many
years past been the conduct of the monopolizing land
EARLY CONVENTIONS 197
traders of the colony of New York; and that they have
not only been countenanced but encouraged by both the
legislative and executive authorities of such State or
colony. Many overt acts, in evidence of this truth, are
so fresh in the minds of the members, that it would be
needless to recite them. And whereas the Congress of
the several States did, in said Congress on the 15th day
of May A. D. 1776, in a similar case, pass the following
resolution, viz.:
" 'Resolved That it be recommended to the respective
assemblies and conventions of the United Colonies,
where no government is sufficient to the exigencies of
their affairs hath been hitherto established to adopt such
government, as shall, in the opinion of the representa-
tives of the people, best conduce to the happiness and
safety of their constituents in particular, and America
in general.'
"Your committee, having duly deliberated on the con-
tinued conduct of the authority of New York, before
recited, and on the equitableness on which the aforesaid
resolution of Congress was founded, and considering
that a just right exists in the people to adopt measures
for their own security, not only to enable them to secure
their rights against the usurpations of Great Britain,
but also against that of New York, and the several other
governments claiming jurisdiction of this territory, do
offer the following declaration, viz. :
"This convention whose members are duly chosen by
the free voice of their constituents in the several towns,
on the New Hampshire Grants, in public meeting
assembled, in our own names, and in behalf of our con-
198 HISTORY OF VERMONT
stituents, do hereby proclaim and publicly declare that
the district of territory comprehending and usually
known by the name and description of the New Hamp-
shire Grants, of right ought to be, and is hereby de-
clared forever hereafter to be considered a separate, free
and independent jurisdiction or State; by the name, and
to be forever hereafter called, and known and dis-
tinguished by the name of New Connecticut; and that
the inhabitants that at present are, or that hereafter
may become residents, either by procreation or emigra-
tion, within said territory, shall be entitled to the same
privileges, immunities and enfranchisements as are
allowed; and on such conditions, and in the same man-
ner, as the present inhabitants in future shall or may
enjoy; which are, and forever shall be considered, to be
such privileges and immunities to the free citizens and
denizens as are, or, at any time hereafter, be allowed
to any such inhabitants, of any of the free and inde-
pendent States of America; and that such privileges and
immunities shall be regulated in a bill of rights, and by
a form of government, to be established at the next ad-
journed session of this convention."
The report of the committee was accepted and was
made the declaration of the Convention. H there was
any opposition to its adoption the fact does not appear in
the records.
It was natural that the name New Connecticut
should be bestowed upon the new commonwealth. It
has been shown elsewhere that the region known as the
New Hampshire Grants was literally the child of Con-
necticut. Connecticut people predominated among
EARLY CONVENTIONS 199
those to whom Gov. Benning Wentworth made grants
of land west of the Connecticut River. A majority of
the settlers came hither from Connecticut. More names
of townships were taken from Connecticut than from
any other colony and Connecticut ideas and ideals were
the foundations upon which this commonwealth was
builded. The name New Connecticut speedily passed
away but the fact remains — one of the great outstand-
ing facts of Vermont history — that the influence of Con-
necticut upon Vermont probably was a greater con-
structive force than that exerted by all the other Ameri-
can colonies.
This committee reported further that the Continental
Congress should be informed of the reasons why New
Hampshire Grants had been declared an independent
State and that that body be asked to grant said State
a Representative in Congress. It was further recom-
mended that a committee of war be appointed on the
east side of the mountain range to act in conjunction
with a similar committee on the west side; that some
temporary policy should be adopted for establishing a
system of government and that means should be devised
for defraying the expenses of the agents to be sent to
the Continental Congress and for printing the proceed-
ings of the Convention. This report was accepted. It
was further voted that the Declaration of Independence
adopted should be inserted in the newspapers. There
being no newspapers in the new State at that time, it
was necessary to use those published in the older States,
and particularly to use those of Connecticut. Heman
Allen, Thomas Chandler and Nathan Clark were ap-
200 HISTORY OF VERMONT
pointed a committee to prepare the declaration for pub-
lication. Jonas Fay, Thomas Chittenden, Reuben
Jones, Jacob Bayley and Heman Allen were appointed
delegates to carry the remonstrance and petition of Ver-
mont to the Continental Congress. Heman Allen, Jonas
Fay, Joshua Webb and Thomas Murdock were appointed
a committee, each member of which was expected to
raise one hundred dollars for a fund to defray the
expenses of the delegates to Philadelphia. It may be
said in passing that there were no millionaires in New
Connecticut in those days and that hundred-dollar sub-
scriptions were by no means easy to obtain.
The committee of war appointed for the east side
consisted of Thomas Chandler of Chester, Stephen Til-
den of Hartford, Ebenezer Hoisington of Windsor,
Joshua Webb of Westminster, Dennis Lockland of Put-
ney, Jotham Bigelow of Guilford, Thomas Johnson of
Newbury, Elijah Gates of Norwich and Nicholas White
of Bradford. It was directed that delegates from Cum-
berland county should be forbidden to sit in a New York
Provincial Congress and the ''ardent wish" of the Con-
vention was expressed that each town in the State would
send delegates to the next session of the Convention.
It was voted to adjourn the Convention until the first
V/ednesday of June, the session to be held in the meet-
ing house at Windsor.
The declaration and petition to Congress presented to
that body April 8, 1777, rehearsed briefly the grievances
of the people of the New Hampshire Grants against the
government of New York and expressed the fear that
their rights were still in danger because the New York
EARLY CONVENTIONS 201
convention held at Harlem the preceding August had
voted that all quit rents within the State formerly due
and owing to the British crown were due and owing to
the Convention, or to such government as might there-
after be established in the State. The statement is made
that when news of the Declaration of Independence
adopted by the Continental Congress reached the peti-
tioners they communicated it throughout the whole of
their district.
The Declaration of the Independence of Vermont,
prepared for the press by a committee appointed for the
purpose, and published in the Connecticut C our ant of
March 17, 1777, was as follows: "Whereas the Honor-
able the Continental Congress did, on the 4th day of
July last, declare the United Colonies in America to be
free and independent of the crown of Great Britain;
which declaration we most cordially acquiesce in : And
whereas by the said declaration the arbitrary acts of the
crown are null and void, in America, consequently the
jurisdiction by said crown granted to New York gov-
ernment over the people of the New Hampshire Grants
is totally dissolved:
"We, therefore, the inhabitants, on said tract of land,
are at present without law or government, and may be
truly said to be in a state of nature; consequently a
right remains to the people of said Grants to form a
government best suited to secure their property, well
being and happiness. We the delegates from the sev-
eral counties and towns on said tract of land, bounded
as follows : South on the North line of Massachusetts
Bay; East on the Connecticut River; North on Canada
202 HISTORY OF VERMONT
line ; West as far as the New Hampshire Grants extend :
"After several adjournments for the purpose of form-
ing ourselves into a distinct separate State, being
assembled at Westminster, do make and publish the
following Declaration, viz. :
"That we will, at all times hereafter, consider our-
selves as a free and independent State, capable of regu-
lating our internal police, in all and every respect what-
soever— and that the people on said Grants have the
sole and exclusive and inherent right of ruling and gov-
erning themselves in such manner and form as in their
own wisdom they shall think proper, not inconsistent
or repugnant to any resolve of the Honorable Conti-
nental Congress.
"Furthermore, we declare by all the ties which are
held sacred among men, that we will firmly stand by and
support one another in this our declaration of a State,
and in endeavoring as much as in us lies, to suppress
all unlawful routs and disturbances whatsoever. Also
we will endeavor to secure to every individual his life,
peace and property against all unlawful invaders of the
same.
"Lastly, we hereby declare, that we are at all times
ready, in conjunction with our brethren in the United
States of America, to do our full proportion in main-
taining and supporting the just war against the tyran-
nical invasions of the ministerial fleets and armies, as
well as any other foreign enemies, sent with express
purpose to murder our fellow brethren, and with fire
and sword to ravage our defenceless country.
EARLY CONVENTIONS 203
"The said State hereafter is to be called by the name
of New Connecticut."
The report of the Convention which opened at Wind-
sor July 2, 1777, is very meagre, being made up of
various bits of evidence gathered from several sources.
It is unfortunate that there has been left no satisfactory
account of this Convention which provided a constitution
and frame of government for the new State, and gave
to it the name which it bears. Researches made by Rev.
Pliny H. White and Leonard Deming indicate that its
membership included Alexander Harvey of Barnet,
Jonas Fay and Joseph Safford of Bennington, Benjamin
Baldwin and Bildad Andrus of Bradford, Thomas
Chandler and Jabez Sargent of Chester, Thomas Chit-
tenden and William Gage of Danby, Benjamin Carpen-
ter of Guilford, Joseph Marsh of Hartford, Francis
Whitmore of Marlboro, Jacob Bayley and Reuben
Foster of Newbury, John Throop of Pom fret, William
Ward and Nehemiah Howe of Poultney, Joshua Webb
and Reuben Jones of Rockingham, Joseph Bowker of
Rutland, Timothy Brownson of Sunderland, Ebenezer
Allen and Charles Brewster of Tinmouth and Joseph
Williams of Pownal.
To this list E. P. Walton added the names of Thomas
Rowley of Danby, John Burnam of Bennington, Ira
Allen and Heman Allen of Colchester, and was of the
opinion that probably Nathan Clark of Bennington, Ben-
jamin Spencer of Clarendon, Jeremiah Clark of Shafts-
bury, Samuel Fletcher of Townshend, William Williams
of Wilmington, Leonard Spaulding of Dummerston,
Nathaniel Robinson of Westminster, Ebenezer Hoising-
204 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ton of Windsor, John W. Dana of Pomfret and John
Coffein of Cavendish were members.
The Convention organized by choosing Joseph
Bowker president and Joseph Marsh vice-president.
Mr. Bowker had been president of all the conventions
of the New Hampshire Grants with the exception of
the first two held at Dorset. After organizing, the
Convention listened to a sermon preached by Rev. Aaron
Hutchinson of Pomfret. Some time was given to the
consideration of military afifairs relating to Burgoyne's
invasion. The proposed constitution then was read and
was taken up for discussion, the debate continuing until
July 8, when news came of the evacuation of Ticon-
deroga by General St. Clair. This report caused
great alarm, as the families of many of the mem-
bers, including the household of President Bowker, were
exposed to danger. The sentiment was in favor of
immediate adjournment to permit the members to hasten
in defence of their families. Just at this point, how-
ever, a furious thunder storm began, and being unable
to start for their several homes, the members again gave
their attention to the constitution, which was read for
the last time and unanimously adopted.
Provision was made for an election to be held in
December, 1777. Joseph Marsh, Joseph Williams and
Timothy Brownson were appointed a committee to pro-
cure a supply of arms for the State. A Council of
Safety was appointed to conduct the affairs of the State
until an election could be held. According to General
Stark the committee consisted of twelve members. No
official list exists but it is known that it included Thomas
EARLY CONVENTIONS 205
Chittenden, Ira Allen, Moses Robinson, Jonas Fay,
Joseph Fay, Paul Spooner, Nathan Clark and Jacob
Bayley. Probably Jeremiah Clark, Benjamin Carpen-
ter, Heman Allen and Matthew Lyon were members.
The Convention voted to establish a loan office, appoint-
ing Ira Allen trustee, and adjourned.
The text of the Preamble and Bill of Rights follows :
''Whereas, all government ought to be instituted and
supported, for the security and protection of the com-
munity, as such, and to enable the individuals who com-
pose it, to enjoy their natural rights, and the other bless-
ings which the Author of existence has bestowed upon
man; and whenever those great ends of government are
not obtained, the people have a right, by common con-
sent, to change it, and take such measures as to them
may appear necessary to promote their safety and hap-
piness.
"And whereas, the inhabitants of this State have, (in
consideration of protection only) heretofore acknowl-
edged allegiance to the King of Great Britain, and the
said King has not only withdrawn that protection but
commenced, and still continues to carry on, with un-
abated vengeance, a most cruel and unjust war against
them; employing therein, not only the troops of Great
Britain, but foreign mercenaries, savages and slaves, for
the avowed purpose of reducing them to a total and
abject submission to the despotic dominion of the British
Parliament, with many other acts of tyranny, (more
fully set forth in the declaration of Congress,) where-
by all allegiance and fealty to the said King and his
successors, are dissolved and at an end; and all power
206 HISTORY OF VERMONT
and authority derived from him, ceased in the Ameri-
can colonies.
"And whereas, the territory which now comprehends
the State of Vermont, did antecedently, of right, belong
to the government of New Hampshire; and the former
Governor thereof, viz. his Excellency Benning Went-
worth, Esq., granted many charters of lands and cor-
porations, within this State, to the present inhabitants
and others. And whereas, the late Lieutenant Gov-
ernor Golden, of New York, with others, did, in viola-
tion of the tenth command, covet those very lands; and
by a false representation made to the court of Great
Britain, (in the year 1764, that for the convenience of
trade and administration of justice the inhabitants were
desirous of being annexed to that government,) obtained
jurisdiction of those very identical lands ex-parte;
which ever was, and is, disagreeable to the inhabitants.
And whereas the legislature of New York, ever have,
and still continue to disown the good people of this State,
in their landed property, which will appear in the com-
plaints hereafter inserted and in the 36th section of their
present constitution, in which is established the grants
of land made by that government.
"They have refused to .make re-grants of our lands
to the original proprietors and occupants, unless at the
exorbitant rate of 2,300 dollars fees for each township ;
and did enhance the quit rent, three fold, and demanded
an immediate delivery of the title derived before, from
New Hampshire.
"The judges of their supreme court have made a
solemn declaration, that the charters, conveyances, etc.,
EARLY CONVENTIONS 207
of the lands included in the before described premises,
were utterly null and void, on which said title was
founded; in consequence of which declaration, writs of
possession have been by them issued, and the sheriff of
the county of Albany sent, at the head of six or seven
hundred men, to enforce the execution thereof.
"They have passed an act, annexing a penalty thereto,
of thirty pounds fine and six months imprisonment, on
any person who should refuse assisting the sheriff,
after being requested, for the purpose of executing writs
of possession.
"The Governors, Dunmore, Tryon and Colden, have
made re-grants of several tracts of land, included in the
premises, to certain favorite land jobbers in the govern-
ment of New York, in direct violation of his Britannic
majesty's express prohibition, in the year 1767.
"They have issued proclamations, wherein they have
offered large sums of money, for the purpose of appre-
hending those very persons who have dared boldly, and
publicly, appear in defence of their just rights.
"They did pass twelve acts of outlawry, on the ninth
day of March, A. D. 1774, impowering the respective
judges of their supreme court, to award execution of
death against those inhabitants in said district that they
should judge to be offenders, without trial.
"They have, and still continue, an unjust claim to
those lands, which greatly retards emigration into, and
the settlement of, this State.
"They have hired foreign troops, emigrants from
Scotland, at two different times, and armed them, to
drive us out of possession.
208 HISTORY OF VERMONT
"They have sent the savages on our frontiers, to dis-
tress us.
"They have proceeded to erect the counties of Cum-
berland and Glocester, and estabUsh courts of justice
there, after they were discountenanced by the authority
of Great Britain.
"The free Convention of the State of New York, at
Harlem, in the year 1776, unanimously voted, 'That all
quit rents formerly due to the King of Great Britain,
are now due and owing to this Convention, or such
future government as shall be hereafter established in
this State'.
"In the several stages of the aforesaid oppressions,
we have petitioned his Britannic majesty, in the most
humble manner, for redress, and have, at very great
expense, received several reports in our favor; and in
other instances, wherein we have petitioned the late
legislative authority of New York, those petitions have
been treated with neglect.
"And whereas, the local situation of this State, from
New York, at the extream part, is upwards of four hun-
dred and fifty miles from the seat of that government,
which renders it extream difficult to continue under the
jurisdiction of said State.
"Therefore, it is absolutely necessary, for the wel-
fare and safety of the inhabitants of this State, that it
should be, henceforth, a free and independent State; and
that a just, permanent and proper form of government,
should exist in it, derived from, and founded on, the
authority of the people only, agreeable to the direction
of the honorable American Congress.
EARLY CONVENTIONS 209
**We the representatives of the freemen of Vermont,
in General Convention met, for the express purpose of
forming such a government, — confessing the goodness
of the Great Governor of the Universe, (who alone,
knows to what degree of earthly happiness, mankind
may attain, by perfecting the arts of government,) in
permitting the people of this State, by common consent,
and without violence, deliberately to form for them-
selves, such just rules as they shall think best for gov-
erning their future society; and being fully convinced
that it is our indispensable duty, to establish such orig-
inal principles of government, as will best promote the
general happiness of the people of this State, and their
posterity, and provide for future improvements without
partiality for, or prejudice against, any particular class,
sect, or denomination of men whatever, — do, by virtue
of authority vested in us, by our constituents, ordain,
declare, and establish, the following declaration of
rights, and frame of government, to be the Constitution
of this Commonwealth, and to remain in force therein,
forever, unaltered, except in such articles, as shall, here-
after, on experience, be found to require improvement,
and which shall, by the same authority of the people,
fairly delegated, as this frame of government directs,
be amended or improved, for the more effectual obtain-
ing and securing the great end and design of all govern-
ment, herein before mentioned.
Chapter I.
''A declaration of the rights of the inhabitants of the
State of Vermont.
210 HISTORY OF VERMONT
''I, That all men are born equally free and independ-
ent, and have certain natural inherent and unalienable
rights, amongst which are the enjoying and defending
life and liberty; acquiring, possessing and protecting
property, and pursuing and obtaining happiness and
safety. Therefore, no male person, born in this coun-
try, or brought from over sea, ought to be holden by law,
to serve any person, as a servant, slave or apprentice,
after he arrives to the age of twenty-one years, nor
female, in like manner, after she arrives to the age of
eighteen years, unless they are bound by their own con-
sent, after they arrive at such age, or bound by law, for
the payment of debts, damages, fines, costs, or the like.
"II. That private property ought to be subservient
to public uses, when necessity requires it; nevertheless,
whenever any particular man's property is taken for the
use of the public, the owner ought to receive an equiva-
lent in money.
"III. That all men have a natural and unalienable
right to worship Almighty God, according to the dic-
tates of their own consciences and understanding, regu-
lated by the word of God; and that no man ought, or,
of right, can be compelled to attend any religious wor-
ship, or erect or support any place of worship, or main-
tain any minister, contrary to the dictates of his own
conscience; nor can any man who professes the Protes-
tant religion be justly deprived or abridged of any civil
right as a citizen, on account of his religious sentiment,
or peculiar mode of religious worship, and that no
authority can, or ought to be vested in, or assumed by
any power whatsoever, that shall in any case, interfere
„„,,.
M
W
O
o
O
EARLY CONVENTIONS 211
with, or in any manner controul, the rights of con-
science, in the free exercise of religious worship: never-
theless, every sect or denomination of people ought to
observe the Sabbath, or the Lord's day, and keep up, and
support, some sort of religious worship, which to them
shall seem most agreeable to the revealed will of God.
"IV. That the people of this State have the sole,
exclusive and inherent right of governing and regulat-
ing the internal police of the same.
"V. That all power being originally inherent in, and
consequently, derived from, the people; therefore, all
officers of government, whether legislative or executive,
are their trustees and servants, and at all times account-
able to them.
"VI. That government is, or ought to be, instituted
for the common benefit, protection, and security of the
people, nation or community ; and not for the particular
emolument or advantage of any single man, family or
set of men, who are a part only of that community;
and that the community hath an indubitable, unalienable
and indefeasible right to reform, alter, or abolish gov-
ernment, in such manner as shall be, by that community,
judged most conducive to the public weal.
"VII. That those who are employed in the legis-
lative and executive business of the State, may be re-
strained from oppression, the people have a right, at
such periods as they may think proper, to reduce their
public officers to a private station, and supply the vacan-
cies by certain and regular elections.
"VIII. That all elections ought to be free; and that
all freemen, having a sufficient, evident common interest
212 HISTORY OF VERMONT
with, and attachment to, the community, have a right to
elect officers, or be elected into office.
"IX. That every member of society hath a right to
be protected in the enjoyment of life, liberty and prop-
erty, and therefore, is bound to contribute his propor-
tion towards the expense of that protection, and yield
his personal service, when necessary, or an equivalent
thereto; but no part of a man's property can be justly
taken from him, or applied to public uses, without his
own consent, or that of his legal representatives; nor
can any man who is conscientiously scrupulous of bear-
ing arms, be justly compelled thereto, if he will pay such
equivalent; nor are the people bound by any law, but
such as they have in like manner, assented to, for their
common good.
"X. That, in all prosecutions for criminal offences,
a man hath a right to be heard, by himself and his coun-
sel— to demand the cause and nature of his accusation —
to be confronted with the witnesses — to call for evidence
in his favor, and a speedy public trial, by an impartial
jury of the country; without the unanimous consent of
which jury he cannot be found guilty; nor can he be
compelled to give evidence against himself; nor can any
man be justly deprived of his liberty, except by the laws
of the land or the judgment of his peers.
"XL That the people have a right to hold them-
selves, their houses, papers and possessions free from
search or seizure; and therefore warrants, without
oaths or affirmations first made, affording a sufficient
foundation for them, and whereby any officer or mes-
senger may be commanded or required to search sus-
EARLY CONVENTIONS 213
pected places, or to seize any person or persons, his,
her or their property, not particularly described, are
contrary to that right, and ought not to be granted.
"XII. That no warrant or writ to attach the person
or estate of any freeholder within this State, shall be
issued in civil action, without the person or persons, who
may request such warrant or attachment, first make
oath, or affirm, before the authority who may be re-
quested to issue the same, that he, or they, are in danger
of losing his, her or their debts.
"XIII. That, in controversies respecting property,
and in suits between man and man, the parties have a
right to a trial by jury ; which ought to be held sacred.
''XIV. That the people have a right to freedom of
speech, and of writing and publishing their sentiments;
therefore, the freedom of the press ought not to be re-
strained.
"XV. That the people have a right to bear arms
for the defence of themselves and the State; and, as
standing armies, in the time of peace, are dangerous to
liberty, they ought not to be kept up; and that the mili-
tary should be kept under strict subordination to, and
governed by, the civil power.
"XVI. That frequent recurrence to fundamental
principles, and a firm adherence to justice, moderation,
temperance, industry and frugality, are absolutely
necessary to preserve the blessings of liberty, and keep
government free. The people ought, therefore, to pay
particular attention to these points, in the choice of
officers and representatives, and have a right to exact
a due and constant regard to them, from their legis-
214 HISTORY OF VERMONT
lators and magistrates, in the making and executing
such laws as are necessary for the good government
of the State.
"XVII. That all people have a natural and inherent
right to emigrate from one State to another, that will
receive them; or to form a new State in vacant coun-
tries, or in such countries as they can purchase, when-
ever they think that thereby they can promote their own
happiness.
"XVIII. That the people have a right to assemble
together, to consult for their common good — to instruct
their representatives, and to apply to the legislature for
redress of grievances, by address, petition or remon-
strance.
"XIX. That no person shall be liable to be trans-
ported out of this State, for trial, for any ofifence com-
mitted within this State."
The plan or frame of government provided for a
Governor, Deputy Governor, Council and an Assembly.
The legislative power was vested in the House of Repre-
sentatives and the executive power in a Governor and
Council. Provision was made for the training and
arming of the freemen of the commonwealth and their
sons for purposes of defense and of the regulation of
the General Assembly, reserving to the people the right
to choose their colonels of militia and other commis-
sioned officers.
The members of the House of Representatives were
to be chosen one for each town in the State. The Con-
stitution specified that this body should consist "of
persons most noted for wisdom and virtue." Each
EARLY CONVENTIONS • 215
member of the House of Representatives was required
to declare under oath his belief in God, in the divine
inspiration of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testa-
ment, and to make a profession of the Protestant re-
ligion. Provision was made for trial by jury, and for
justice "impartially administered without corruption or
unnecessary delay." A corrupt practice section de-
clared that any elector who should receive any gift or
reward for his vote "in meat, drink, moneys or other-
wise," should forfeit his right to participate in that
election. Freedom of the press was provided and a pro-
test was made against establishing offices of profit.
Schools were to be established in each town and it was
recommended that there should be one grammar school
in each county and one University in the State.
A comparison of this Constitution with that adopted
by Pennsylvania in 1776 shows that the new State fol-
lowed the Pennsylvania instrument very closely, the
exact wording being used to a considerable extent.
This Constitution, in no small part, was adapted from
William Penn's "Frame of Government of the Province
of Pennsylvania in America," and was recommended
earnestly as a model by Dr. Thomas Young, a friend
of Ethan Allen, who took great interest in the welfare
of the people of the New Hampshire Grants. In pro-
hibiting slavery the new State was doing pioneer work,
being the first American commonwealth to take such
action. In some other important respects the Vermont
Constitution differed from that of Pennsylvania,
notably in such matters as compensation secured for
private property taken for public uses, security of
216 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Protestants against civil disabilities on account of re-
ligion, the sole right of the people to govern the internal
police and provision that no person should be trans-
ported for trial out of the State for an offence com-
mitted within its borders.
One of the most notable features of the Vermont Con-
stitution is brought out by McMaster, in his "History
of the People of the United States," in which he says :
"Under most of these early (State) Constitutions none
but property-owning, tax paying men could give that
consent from which government derives its just powers.
The government set up by many a constitution, despite
the principle announced in its preamble, was that of a
class. Nowhere, save in Vermont, did manhood suf-
frage exist. Elsewhere no man voted who did not pay
a property tax, or rent a house, or own a specified num-
ber of acres of land, or have a specified yearly income.
* * * In Kentucky and Vermont manhood suffrage
for the first time was made a part of the political sys-
tem of the United States."
Thus the Vermont Constitution was the first to for-
bid slavery and the first to permit manhood suffrage,
distinctions which make it a notable document in the
history of American freedom.
At this time the only States which had adopted con-
stitutions were New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, Dela-
ware, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, which had
adopted such instruments in 1776, and Georgia and New
York, which had held conventions early in the year
1777.
EARLY CONVENTIONS 217
Provision had been made for holding the first elec-
tion under the Constitution in December, 1777, and
the first meeting of the General Assembly at Ben-
nington in January, 1778. Such action, however,
was rendered impossible, as Slade suggests in his
"Vermont State Papers," on account of the progress
of Burgoyne's campaign and the fact that the Constitu-
tion had not been printed in time to call an election.
Therefore the Council of Safety summoned the Conven-
tion to reassemble at Windsor, December 24, 1777,
proximity to Christmas not being considered an objec-
tion at that period.
This Convention made some revision of the Constitu-
tion and postponed the election to the first Tuesday of
March, 1778, and the meeting of the General Assembly
to the second Thursday of the same month. Details
are lacking, owing to the fact that the journals of the
Convention have been lost.
The reason why the first Constitution was not sub-
mitted to the people for ratification was explained with
considerable frankness by Ira Allen in his '^History
of Vermont." He refers to "intestine divisions and
dififerent opinions" which prevailed among the people
and even in the Convention, where, to avoid discord,
a large majority yielded to the minority during the de-
liberations. He alludes to the fact that provision
was made for amending the Constitution, and adds:
"Had the Constitution been then submitted to the con-
sideration of the people for their revision, amendment
and ratification, it is very doubtful whether a majority
would have confirmed it, considering the resolution of
218 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Congress, and their influence at that time, as well as
the intrigue and expense of the Provincial Congress
of New York, who endeavored to divide and subdivide
the people." Allen further says that Bennington was
the only town in the new State that objected to the
Constitution because it had not been submitted to
popular vote, and only twenty-one of its freemen quali-
fied for the first election. This feeling of hostility
soon died away in Bennington, and the Constitution
gave general satisfaction.
Chapter XXI
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED
THE first election for State officers was held on
Tuesday, March 3, 1778. Ira Allen, to whom
had been assigned the task of arranging for
the printing of the new Constitution, had returned
from Hartford, Conn., only a few days prior to the
time fixed for the election, and had distributed copies
of the document. In his "History of Vermont" Allen
observes: "There was one (or more) in each town
who coveted the honor of being a member in the first
General Assembly of the new State of Vermont. It
was, therefore, to their interest to induce their friends
to attend the meeting and take the freeman's oath."
The ambitions of "one or more in each town who
coveted the honor," have been of material assistance in
getting out a full vote on many an election day in Ver-
mont since the first freeman's meeting in 1778.
Surely no time was lost between the date of election
and the convening of the General Assembly, which met
Thursday, March 12, in the meeting house at Windsor.
When one considers the lack of roads, the primitive
methods of transportation, and the margin of a little more
than a week between the election of legislators and the
starting of the legislative machinery, it is evident that
the utmost diligence must have been required on the
part of members to arrange their affairs and reach the
village of Windsor at the time appointed. Joseph
Bowker of Rutland, president of several of the early
conventions, was elected Speaker, and Maj. Thomas
Chandler of Chester was chosen clerk. After organi-
zation, Rev. Mr. Powers preached a sermon from the
text, "And Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying, all
222 HISTORY OF VERMONT
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" — Matt.
28; 18. This sermon gave such general satisfaction to
the members that they passed a resolution of thanks,
and as a more substantial token presented the preacher
with the sum of ten pounds, raised by contribution.
A committee consisting of Col. Thomas Chittenden,
Capt. Joseph Bowker, Col. Timothy Brownson, Capt.
Ira Allen, Col. Peter Olcott, Col. Joseph Marsh, Deacon
Benjamin Emmons, Dr. Jonas Fay, Dr. Paul Spooner,
Maj. Thomas Chandler, Maj. Jeremiah Clark and Col.
Jacob Kent, was chosen to receive, sort and count the
votes cast for Governor, Deputy Governor, Treasurer
and twelve members of the Council. It was found that
Thomas Chittenden was elected Governor "by a great
majority of votes." For Deputy Governor, or Lieu-
tenant Governor, there appeared to be no election, Col.
Joseph Marsh of Hartford lacking eleven votes of a
majority. He was, therefore, elected by the General
Assembly, and a little later fifteen additional votes were
brought in for Colonel Marsh, which made him the
choice of the people. There being no choice for the
office of Treasurer, Col. Ira Allen was elected by ballot.
The Councillors chosen were Joseph Bowker of Rut-
land, Jacob Bayley of Newbury, Jonas Fay of Benning-
ton, Timothy Brownson of Sunderland, Peter Olcott of
Norwich, Paul Spooner of Hartland, Benjamin Carpen-
ter of Guilford, Jeremiah Clark of Shaftsbury, Ira Allen
of Colchester, Thomas Murdock of Norwich, Moses
Robinson of Bennington and Benjamin Emmons of
Woodstock.
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 223
On the following day, Friday, March 13, the newly
elected officers took the oath prescribed and entered upon
the duties of their relative offices. Joseph Bowker hav-
ing been elected a Councillor, Nathan Clark of Benning-
ton was chosen to succeed him as Speaker. Maj.
Thomas Chandler at this time was elected Secretary of
State. The superstition that Friday occurring on the
thirteenth day of the month is a day of ill omen, did not
deter the Vermont fathers from inaugurating their gov-
ernment on that day.
The new Governor was fifty-eight years old when he
assumed his executive duties. He was born at East
Guilford, Conn., and at the age of eighteen, desiring ad-
venture, sailed on a voyage to the West Indies. With
his companions he was made a prisoner by a French war-
ship and was landed on an island without money or
friends. After enduring many hardships, he returned
to his New England home. In 1749 he married Eliza-
beth Meigs and removed to Salisbury, Conn., in a newly
settled portion of the colony. He represented his town
in the provincial Legislature during the years 1765
to 1769 inclusive, and again in 1772. He also served as
Justice of the Peace and as a Colonel of militia. When
the emigration to the New Hampshire Grants began,
Colonel Chittenden, in 1774, removed to Williston and
cleared a large farm in the fertile Winooski valley, re-
maining until 1776, when he was obliged to abandon his
home on account of the activity of British troops. He
was a member of the conventions which organized the
new commonwealth and was president of the Council of
Safety. He possessed remarkable qualities of leader-
224 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ship, was tactful and was noted for the soundness of his
judgment. Ethan Allen once said of him that he was
the only man he ever had known who was sure to be
right, even in the most complex cases, without being able
to tell the reason why. He never made a formal speech,
but was able in a few sentences to sum up a situation
clearly and forcibly. Governor Chittenden was over six
feet in height. Because he had lost the sight of one eye,
his opponents called him "One-eyed Tom."
Joseph Marsh, the first Lieutenant Governor, was
born at Lebanon, Conn., January 12, 1726, and came to
Hartford in the New Hampshire Grants in 1772. In
1776 he was appointed Colonel of the Cumberland
county militia and the same year was elected a member
of the New York provincial Congress. In 1777 he was
a member of the Windsor Conventions.
A variety of business was transacted at the first ses-
sion of the General Assembly of Vermont. It was voted
to divide the State into two counties, one on each side
of the Green Mountain range, the county on the west
side to be called Bennington and the one on the east side.
Unity. Before this session ended it was decided to
change the name of Unity county to the more familiar
one of Cumberland county, each county to be divided
into four probate districts. The Governor was to be
styled His Excellency, and was to have a salary of fifty
pounds. Acts punishing high treason and treacherous
conspiracies were taken verbatim from "the Connecticut
law book."
An act of affirmation was provided for Quakers; a
bill for altering, regulating and mending highways was
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 225
defeated; and the first of a multitude of laws relating to
fishing was passed, providing for the appointment of a
committee to draft a bill "for the purpose of preventing
some individuals catching all the fish that pass and re-
pass up and down White River." Judges were elected
for the shires of Newbury, Westminster, Bennington
and Rutland,
On Thursday, March 26, the Legislature adjourned to
the first Thursday of June, having been in session two
weeks.
The adjourned session met at Capt. Stephen Fay's
home at Bennington, Thursday, June 4, but thereafter
the sessions were held in the meeting house. It was a
graceful and an appropriate act for the General
Assembly to present its compliments to that distin-
guished patriot, Rev. Jedediah Dewey, and ask him "to
pray with the Assembly, at their opening in the morn-
ing, for this present session." Before the year closed he
died, the date of his death being December 24, 1778.
The June session was devoted largely to routine busi-
ness, some of it relating to the perfecting of the govern-
mental machinery necessary to operate the new State,
and other measures relating to the protection of the in-
habitants from their enemies. It was voted "to take the
incorporated University of Dartmouth under the patron-
age of this State," an act destined to have no little efifect
on subsequent State policies. Rev. Eleazer Wheelock,
D. D., of Dartmouth, was appointed a Justice of the
Peace. In order to encourage manufacturing, a com-
mittee was appointed to confer with a Mr. McConnel, a
wire drawer and card maker, and report what premium
226 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ought to be given to induce him to estabhsh such an in-
dustry in the State. Preliminary steps were taken rela-
tive to county elections, and it was voted "to give a
premium for the destruction of wolves." Governor
Benning Wentworth's charter provisions were renewed
and directions issued to a committee to prepare a bill to
preserve all white pine timber in the State fit for mast-
ing.
After a session of two weeks, the Legislature ad-
journed on June 18, subject to the call of the Governor.
The third session held in 1778 met at Windsor,
Thursday, October 8, and sixty towns elected seventy-
four Representatives, several towns having two mem-
bers each. Eleven towns east of the Connecticut River
were represented. Included in the membership were
such well known men as Col. Ethan Allen of Arlington,
Moses Robinson of Rupert, Col. Ebenezer Walbridge of
Bennington, Capt. Gideon Ormsby of Manchester, Capt.
Abraham Underbill of Dorset, Maj. Gideon Olin of
Shaftsbury, Thomas Rowley of Danby, Col. Samuel
Fletcher of Townshend, Dr. Reuben Jones of Rocking-
ham, Maj. Thomas Chandler of Chester and Bezaleel
Woodward of Dresden (N. H.).
After attending divine service at the meeting house,
the vote for State officers was canvassed and it was
found that Governor Thomas Chittenden, Lieutenant
Governor Joseph Marsh and Treasurer Ira Allen had
been re-elected. A considerable portion of this session
was devoted to a consideration of the controversy with
New Hampshire, which will be considered in a subse-
quent chapter. A Superior Court, consisting of five
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 227
judges, was established. A committee of three was ap-
pointed to prepare a bill respecting the freedom of
slaves, — ''agreeable to the Bill of Rights," Edward Har-
ris of Halifax, Thomas Rowley of Danby and Thomas
Cooper of Windsor being named. Provision was made
for building a road from Wilmington to Bennington.
Ethan Allen was appointed an agent to wait upon Con-
gress when the Governor and Council should deem such
action necessary. Thursday, November 26, was fixed
upon as "a day of public and solemn Thanksgiving to
Almighty God for His manifold mercies," and the ses-
sion adjourned October 24, to convene in the Benning-
ton meeting house on the second Thursday of February,
1779.
Toward the close of the year the laws of 1778 were
published in pamphlet form, but they were not recorded
in the Secretary of State's office. Slade is of the opinion
that the laws of that year were considered as temporary.
The first act passed at the session of the General
Assembly which met at Bennington, February 11, 1779,
established the common law, as "generally practised and
understood in the New England States," as the common
law of Vermont. It also declared that the Constitution
of 1777 should be "forever considered, held, and main-
tained as part of the laws of this State." It was a
peculiar circumstance that a constitution supposed to be
the power that authorizes a legislative body to enact
laws, should be declared valid by a General Assembly, —
that the creature should give approval and endorsement
to the creator. Apparently that action was taken to
overcome any objection that might be raised because the
228 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Constitution had not been submitted to popular vote. It
must be remembered that constitutional government was
new in America, and that constitutional law and judicial
procedure were not at all familiar to the people of Ver-
mont.
A considerable body of law was enacted at this ses-
sion. High treason was defined and made punishable
by death. Other capital crimes named were murder,
conspiracy, blasphemy, rape, bestiality, sodomy, false
witness, premeditated arson, and malicious maiming.
Adultery was punished by the infliction of thirty-nine
stripes, branding on the forehead with the letter A, and
the wearing of the letter A on the outside garment.
Counterfeiting was punished by cutting ofif the right ear,
branding with the letter C and imprisonment for life.
A theft amounting to six pounds was punished by the
infliction of thirty-nine stripes. The penalty for drunk-
enness, lying and profanity was punishment in the stocks.
Only works of mercy and necessity were permitted on
the Sabbath. There was to be no play or recreation
on that day and no travel except such as might be neces-
sary for attendance upon public worship, the result of
some adversity, or on business concerning "the present
war." The penalty for Sabbath breaking was a fine of
forty shillings and from five to ten stripes on the naked
back.
The line between Bennington and Cumberland coun-
ties was established, the division being along the Green
Mountain range, substantially, although not always pre-
cisely, where the division was established more than a
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 229
century later between the First and Second congressional
districts.
The mihtia law provided for five regiments, and all
male persons between the ages of sixteen and fifty years,
with certain exceptions, were required to bear arms and
attend muster.
A bounty of eight pounds was fixed on full grown
wolves and panthers, and a closed season on deer from
January 10 to June 10 was established.
The acts of this session were declared temporary, to
remain in force until the rising of the General Assembly
the following October.
A brief session of the Legislature was held at Wind-
sor in June, when four acts were passed to remain in
force until the rising of the Assembly in October. The
October session held at Manchester provided for the
better regulation of land titles and declared every act
on the Statute book "in full force and virtue" until the
completion of the March session. At the session held
in Westminster in March, 1780, the laws were continued
in force until the end of the October session. The trans-
portation of food products outside of the State was for-
bidden except for the use of the Continental troops, or
by permission of the Governor and three of his Council.
At the October session, held at Bennington, all genuine
coined gold, silver and copper coins and bills of credit
emitted by the United States were declared to be legal
money. Fees were regulated and fines were established.
Provision was made for a Commissary General and sup-
plies were voted for the troops to the amount of seventy-
two thousand, seven hundred and eighty-one pounds of
230 HISTORY OF VERMONT
beef, thirty-six thousand, three hundred and eighty-nine
pounds of salt pork, two hundred and eighteen thousand,
three hundred and nine pounds of wheat flour, three
thousand and sixty-eight bushels of rye and six thou-
sand, one hundred and twenty-five bushels of Indian
corn. The quotas for the sixty-four towns of the State
were fixed by law, that for Bennington being the largest,
with Shaftsbury, Windsor and Pownal following in the
order named. Military regulations were established,
and provision was made for the removal of disaffected
persons from the frontiers of the State and for the con-
fiscation of the estates of persons joining the enemies
of Vermont and the United States. The existing laws
were continued in force for another year.
The early relations between New Hampshire and the
new State of Vermont were cordial. In the correspond-
ence preceding the battle of Bennington, President
Mesheck Weare virtually had acknowledged the inde-
pendence of Vermont and it was expected that the in-
fluence of New Hampshire would be exerted in favor of
Vermont's admission to the Federal Union. On the
first day that the Vermont Legislature met, March 12,
1778, a petition was presented from sixteen towns on
the east side of the Connecticut River, Cornish,
Lebanon, Dresden (a name giv'en to a district around
Dartmouth College), Lyme, Orford, Piermont, Haverhill,
Bath, Lyman, Apthorp (later divided into Littleton and
Dalton), Enfield, Canaan, Cardigan (later called
Orange), Landaff, Gunthwaite (later called Lisbon)
and Morristown (later called Franconia), praying for
annexation to Vermont. It was argued that the orig-
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 231
inal grant of New Hampshire to Capt. John Mason
extended only sixty miles from the sea, all the lands to
the westward being royal grants. It was further argued
that with the independence of the American colonies, the
inhabitants of these royal grants "reverted to a state
of nature." Therefore the claim was made that these
people were not connected with any State so far as in-
ternal police regulations were concerned.
The Legislature was perplexed and embarrassed by
this petition, the ablest members of that body realizing
the danger of interfering with the domestic affairs of a
neighboring State. According to Ira Allen the dispute
over this matter became so heated that members from
several Connecticut River towns threatened to with-
draw, and, uniting with people east of the Connecticut
River, to form a new State. It was decided, finally,
that the matter be referred to a vote of the people, an
early use of the referendum. Of the forty-seven towns
voting, thirty- five favored the proposed union and twelve
opposed. Accordingly the June session of the General
Assembly, by a vote of thirty-seven yeas to twelve nays,
authorized the annexation of the sixteen towns men-
tioned. This step having been taken, these towns, on
June 25, 1778, announced to the government of New
Hampshire that they had been admitted as a part of the
State of Vermont, expressing a desire for an amicable
settlement of the boundary line and friendly relations.
There had been much dissatisfaction in the small
towns of Cheshire and Grafton counties, owing to a lack
of representation in the New Hampshire Legislature,
and a convention was held at Dartmouth College, July
232 HISTORY OF VERMONT
31, 1776, which issued an address to the people of New
Hampshire. During the same year, 1776, Col. John
Wheelock, son of President Eleazer Wheelock of Dart-
mouth College, at Norwich, on the west side of the Con-
necticut River, proposed a union of towns on both sides
of that stream. No action was taken at the time,
although it has been intimated that there was a secret
understanding between the people of Grafton and
Gloucester counties, on opposite sides of the river, not
to be separated permanently. There developed in these
Connecticut River towns a sentiment for closer union,
which was guided and fostered apparently by a group
of able men at Dartmouth College. The affairs of the
new State were dominated largely by a group of men in
and near Bennington — Chittenden, the Aliens, the Fays,
and others. There appears to have been no little rivalry
between what sometimes has been called the Bennington
and Dartmouth College parties.
President Weare wrote to the delegates from the six-
teen seceding New Hampshire towns on August 19,
1778, protesting against the action of ''the pretended
State of Vermont," and asserting that nearly half the
people in those towns were opposed to the proceedings
of the majority. He charged Col. Timothy Bedel, who
had received money from Congress for organizing
troops to defend the northern frontier, with responsibil-
ity for much of the disorder in the disaffected towns,
and expressed the fear that the affair might lead to
bloodshed.
Three days later President Weare wrote to Governor
Chittenden, characterizing the claim that the sixteen
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 233
towns annexed had not been connected with any State,
as "an idle phantom, a mere chimera, without the least
shadow of reason for its support." He also expressed
his astonishment that at a time when uncertainty-
existed regarding the admission of Vermont as a sepa-
rate State of the Union, their enemies should be supplied
in this manner with arguments against them. When
this letter was received. Governor Chittenden convened
the Council, and Ethan Allen, who recently had returned
from a long period of captivity, was asked to proceed to
Philadelphia and ascertain the opinion of Congress con-
cerning recent proceedings in Vermont.
Allen reached Philadelphia on September 19, and
learned that three days earlier New Hampshire had pre-
sented a remonstrance against Vermont's annexation of
towns on the east side of the Connecticut River and had re-
quested that some action be taken "to prevent the effusion
of blood and the confusion and disorders which would,
otherwise, inevitably ensue." At the same time charges
made against Vermont by New York were admitted, and
only urgent business prevented consideration of these
matters on the day preceding Allen's arrival. As soon
as he learned how matters stood he urged that no hasty
decision should be made and objected vigorously to a
joint consideration of the New Hampshire and the New
York protests, alleging that they differed widely in their
nature. As a result of his personal influence and his
urgent protest, it was agreed that consideration should
be delayed until he could present the situation to the
members of the General Assembly.
234 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Allen reported to the Governor and Legislature on
October 10, his opinion, "that except this State recede
from such union, immediately the whole powers of the
confederacy of the United States of America will join to
annihilate the State of Vermont, and to vindicate the
right of New Hampshire."
A committee was appointed to consider the New
Hampshire situation, consisting of Governor Chittenden,
Lieutenant Governor Marsh, Col. Elisha Payne, Jonas
Fay and Bezaleel Woodward. Three of the five mem-
bers of this committee were affiliated with the so-called
Dartmouth College party, which, apparently, was in the
ascendancy in the Legislature, Prof. Bezaleel Wood-
ward of Dartmouth College being clerk of the House.
The report of this committee, as adopted, declared in
favor of maintaining the union with the New Hamp-
shire towns annexed, and made proposals concerning a
submission of the dispute to Congress or to any court
that might be agreed upon. When the proposal was
made the following day to rearrange counties to include
these New Hampshire towns, the bill was defeated by a
vote of thirty-five to twenty-six, separate propositions
to annex these towns to Cumberland county and to erect
them into a separate county being voted down. Appar-
ently the report of Ethan Allen had created a greater
impression than the committee report adopted would in-
dicate. The following day, October 22, Lieutenant
Governor Marsh, Col. Peter Olcott and Thomas Mur-
dock of the Council, and twenty-four members of the
Assembly, including Representatives from ten Ver-
mont towns in the Connecticut valley, withdrew from
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 235
the Legislature and separately asserted that the action
of the preceding day relative to the towns east of the
Connecticut River was in direct violation of the Consti-
tution. Furthermore they decided that such action
either was illegal and void or that it destroyed the con-
federation of the State and the Constitution. The docu-
ment closed with a declaration that these seceding mem-
bers would not exercise any office or place, either execu-
tive, legislative, or judicial, as long as the vote to which
objection was made remained in force.
Certainly a serious condition of affairs existed when
nearly half the legislative body withdrew only a little
more than six months after the Vermont government
had been inaugurated.
Before adjourning the October session, the Legisla-
ture directed its members to lay before their constituents
the matter of the union with the sixteen New Hampshire
towns and to ask for instructions. Towns which had
not yet elected Representatives or in which the members
had withdrawn were directed to hold new elections.
A committee of the seceding members issued a call
on October 23, signed by Joseph Marsh, as chairman,
calling a Convention at Cornish the second Wednesday
of December, to which towns on both sides of the Con-
necticut River were invited to send delegates. The
objects set forth were to agree upon a policy of united
action whereby a State might be formed which would be
admitted to the Federal Union, or if this were impos-
sible to become a part of New Hampshire as that prov-
ince stood before the decree of 1764. This meant, of
236 HISTORY OF VERMONT
course, the annexation of Vermont, or a portion of the
State, to New Hampshire.
The Cornish Convention was held December 9, 1778,
with Lieutenant Governor Joseph Marsh as chairman.
Eight Vermont and fourteen New Hampshire towns
were represented. Proposals were made to New Hamp-
shire that a new boundary line be agreed upon between
that State and the Grants; or that a commission be
selected from the other three New England States to
settle the dispute; that the controversy be referred to
Congress for settlement; or that the boundary line on
the west bank of the Connecticut River be abolished and
one State formed. Until action was taken on these pro-
posals the "United Towns," as the Cornish Convention
styled itself, declared that they "would trust in Provi-
dence and defend themselves." An executive committee
was appointed with large powers consisting of Lieut.
Gov. Joseph Marsh, Prof. Bezaleel Woodward, Col.
Elisha Payne, Col. Peter Olcott, Gen. Jacob Bayley, Col.
Israel Morey and Maj. Jonathan Child, most of them
men prominently identified with Vermont.
In this condition of affairs there was grave danger
that the new State might be destroyed. Before the
assembling of the Cornish Convention Ethan Allen had
sent a letter to President Weare by his brother Ira, in
which he declared that in his opinion the union with the
New Hampshire towns had been dissolved, a union which
he had "ever viewed to be incompatible with the right
of New Hampshire," and he hoped the government of
that State would "excuse the imbecility of Vermont."
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 237
The Cornish committee was active in attempting to
secure instructions for members of the Vermont Legis-
lature in favor of continuing the union with the sixteen
New Hampshire towns, but without much success.
When the February session met at Bennington, the
attendance of members from the east side of the State
was small. The New Hampshire controversy was
brought before the General Assembly in the form of a
committee report signed by Jonas Fay, chairman, ex-
pressing the opinion that the sixteen towns east of the
Connecticut "are of right included within the jurisdic-
tion of New Hampshire." This report was accepted
without opposition and it was declared, February 12,
1779, "that the said union be and is hereby dissolved
and made totally void, null and extinct." The report
and resolution were presented to President Weare and
the New Hampshire Council on March 20, by Ira Allen.
A petition signed by Gen. Jacob Bayley and Capt.
Davenport Phelps was presented to the New Hampshire
Legislature on March 17, claiming that the people of
Vermont generally desired a union with New Hamp-
shire, and asking that the entire region embraced in the
new State should be annexed. After considering the
petition for several weeks it was determined that claim
should be made to jurisdiction to all the New Hamp-
shire Grants only in the event that Congress should re-
fuse to admit that region as the State of Vermont. The
Cornish committee was requested to obtain the senti-
ment of the people of Vermont on the subject of union
with New Hampshire. A most energetic protest
238 HISTORY OF VERMONT
against such action was made by Vermont, and Ira
Allen was sent to Exeter, the seat of the New Hamp-
shire government, to watch proceedings. Only a few
Vermont towns, however, took any action in the matter,
the Cornish committee asserting that "the Bennington
party" had intercepted and destroyed many copies of the
circular letters sent out.
Ethan Allen wrote to President Weare, March 4,
1779, urging the government of New Hampshire to
exert its authority on the east side of the Connecticut
River, as he considered the schism on both sides to be
equally against both governments. The leaders of the
"schism" were characterized as a "petulant, petifogging,
scribbling sort of gentry that will keep any government
in hot water."
Ira Allen issued a statement dated at Norwich, July
13, 1779, and addressed "To the inhabitants of the State
of Vermont," reviewing the facts in the New Hamp-
shire controversy, and making a strong, logical and
eloquent plea for the preservation of the integrity of
Vermont.
About this time both New Hampshire and Massa-
chusetts presented to Congress claims upon the territory
of Vermont.
The little Green Mountain commonwealth now was
surrounded by enemies, and there were foes within its
own household. Three States, New York, New Hamp-
shire and Massachusetts, were claiming its territory,
while to the north was Canada, controlled by the common
enemy, Great Britain. Such perils might have dismayed
STATE GOVERNMENT ORGANIZED 239
any but the stoutest hearts, but this people had met suc-
cessfully perils equally great, and they were not dis-
couraged by the dangers that threatened from every
side.
Jr "■
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-m-'
Chapter XXII
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS
BEFORE a State government was organized in
Vermont, military operations were carried on
largely under the direction of a Board of War,
or Council of Safety. Among the first acts of the first
Legislature were several measures relating to the con-
duct of the war. Major Fletcher, Lieut. Thomas
Jewett and Capt. John G. Bayley were appointed a com-
mittee to devise measures for raising men to defend the
frontiers of the State. Seth Warner was appointed a
Brigadier General and Samuel Fletcher was made a
Brigade Major. The pay of the soldiers was increased
to four pounds a month. It was voted to place certain
Tories in close confinement, and the Council was em-
powered to dispose of Tory estates and to deposit in the
State treasury the money received from the sale of such
lands. At the session of the Legislature held in June,
1778, it was voted to comply with the request of General
Stark that a subaltern and twenty men be raised to guard
the stores at Bennington; that a guard of one hundred
men from Colonel Bedel's regiment be sent to guard the
frontiers on the west side of the Green Mountains; that
a sixth part of the militia south of Danby and Pawlet
be sent immediately to guard the frontiers of the State ;
that twenty men be raised to guard the frontiers "from
White River to Strafiford and Corinth, to the lakes,
etc."; that four pounds and forty shillings be allowed
each soldier ; that Col. Peter Olcott, Bezaleel Woodward,
Major Griswold, Patterson Piermont and Major Taylor
be appointed Judges of the Superior Court "for the
banishment of Tories, etc."; that a committee be ap-
244 HISTORY OF VERMONT
pointed to see what should be done with Tory women
and children.
At the third legislative session held in 1778, it was
voted to pay all Vermont men, commissioned officers and
soldiers raised for defence "for the present campaign,"
fifty shillings per month in addition to the amount paid
by the Continental Congress. From time to time other
laws were enacted relative to the conduct of the war
so far as it related to Vermont. Upon the organization
of the State government in 1778, Rutland was selected
as headquarters for the Vermont troops and Capt.
Gideon Brownson was appointed commander of the
forces stationed there. A fort was built of unhewn
hemlock logs, or pickets, the lower end set in a trench
five feet deep, standing fifteen feet above ground, and
sharpened at the top. Between these pickets, on the
inside of the fort, logs standing eight feet high were set
upright. The fort was elliptical in form, and enclosed
two acres or more. There were plank gates on the east
and west sides, and a wicket gate used by occupants
going out to draw water from Otter Creek. In the
northwest corner stood a blockhouse of hewn logs, thirty
by forty feet in size, two stories high, the upper story
projecting two feet, with horizontal and perpendicular
portholes. Sentry boxes were erected in the northeast
and southwest corners, officers' barracks on the north
side and soldiers' barracks on the south side. The accom-
modations were sufficient for a force of two hundred or
three hundred men. Fort Ranger, as it was called, con-
tinued to be the headquarters of the State troops until
the presence of a British force on Lake Champlain in
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 245
1781 caused a transfer to Castleton. The fort never
was attacked, with the exception of a few shots fired at
sentries by Indians or Tories.
In March, 1779, the Governor and Council took up
the duties of the Board of War, Matthew Lyon being
chosen secretary of the board.
Before taking up the mihtary events of the later years
of the Revolution in Vermont, it is proper to refer to
the captivity and release of Ethan Allen. After his
capture at Montreal, in 1775, he was ordered on board
the schooner of war Gaspee, was loaded with irons,
some of them weighing about thirty pounds, and was
confined to the lowest and vilest part of the ship, where
a guard with fixed bayonets watched over him day and
night. The Captain was given positive orders to treat
Allen with severity. Here he was visited from time to
time by enemies who insulted him, but in a war of words
Allen was well able to hold his own, notwithstanding his
bonds. On one occasion, in a fit of anger, he twisted
off with his teeth a nail which held the bar of a hand-
cuff, after vv^hich the irons were fastened with padlocks.
After a stay of six weeks Allen was transferred from
the Gaspcc to another armed vessel near Quebec com-
manded by Captain Littlejohn, who removed his irons
and entertained him in the cabin.
After a few days Allen and his fellow prisoners were
transferred again to the Adamant, where they were
placed under the authority of Brook Watson, a London
merchant, who had been conducted to the Canadian
border by Ira Allen in June, 1775, after professing to
be a friend of America. A company of Tories took
246 HISTORY OF VERMONT
passage on this ship and great bitterness was shown by
them toward the prisoners. Thirty- four men hand-
cuffed were thrust into a small and filthy dungeon. Be-
fore Allen was put into this prison he was insulted by a
Tory Lieutenant, who spat in his face. Allen sprang at
him and struck him in spite of his irons, the officer re-
treating to the protection of the soldiers' bayonets.
For forty days the prisoners were confined in this dark
and loathsome dungeon.
The ship landed a few days before Christmas at Fal-
mouth, England, not far from Land's End, where great
crowds were assembled, the officers being obliged with
their swords to force a passage for Allen and his com-
panions, who w^ere taken to Pendennis Castle. Allen
was well treated by Lieutenant Hamilton, the command-
ant of the castle, who sent him every day ''a fine break-
fast and dinner from his own table and a bottle of good
wine." A letter written by the captor of Ticonderoga,
concerning his treatment and relating to retaliation upon
British prisoners, addressed to the Continental Con-
gress, was sent to Lord North, which was just what
Allen desired. People came from miles around to see
the prisoners, who were allowed to walk in the castle
grounds, and on such occasions Allen discussed Ameri-
can affairs with his visitors. His stay in England was
brief. On January 8, 1776, the prisoners were ordered
on board the frigate Solehay, commanded by Captain
Symonds. This ship, with several other men of war,
Sir Peter Parker and Earl Cornwallis being on board,
and about forty transports carrying troops to America,
rendezvoused at Cork, Ireland, to take on provisions
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 247
and water. Here some Irish merchants "and other
benevolently disposed gentlemen," learning that Allen
and his fellow prisoners were on board the Solehay, sent
each man a suit of clothes, overcoat and two shirts.
Allen received a suit of superfine broadcloth, eight fine
Holland shirts, silk and worsted hose, shoes and two
beaver hats, one richly laced with gold. These Irish
gentlemen also sent Allen a variety of wines and spirits,
loaf and brown sugar, tea and chocolate, fruit, a large
round of pickled beef and a number of fat turkeys. In
commenting on this gift, Allen remarked that not only
was he supplied "with the necessaries and conveniences
of life, but with the grandeurs and superfluities of it."
An offer of fifty guineas was refused, but seven guineas
were accepted. In a note to his benefactors Allen
wrote: "I received your generous presents this day
with a joyful heart. Thanks to God there are still the
feelings of humanity in the worthy citizens of Cork
towards those of their bone and flesh, who, through mis-
fortune from the present broils in the empire are needy
prisoners."
Captain Symonds was not pleased with these demon-
strations and swore roundly that the American rebels
should not be feasted in such manner by Irish rebels.
All the liquors w^re taken, except those that were
secreted, and some of the provisions were confiscated
for the use of the ship's crew. The fleet, consisting of
forty-five ships, including five men of war, sailed from
Cork on February 12.
Allen's return voyage was much more comfortable
than his trip to England, although the Captain was
248 HISTORY OF VERMONT
rough in his manner. After a short stay at Madeira,
the fleet arrived at Cape Fear, North Carolina, on May
3. One prisoner died on the way over and one swam
ashore and escaped. After remaining here about three
weeks the prisoners were transferred to the frigate
Mercury, which sailed for Halifax. Capt. James Mon-
tague treated the Americans with great severity, forbid-
ding the surgeon to care for the sick. The Captain in-
formed Allen frequently that hanging awaited him at
Halifax. The ship anchored off New York, where
Governor Tryon and Attorney General Kempe, old
opponents of the Green Mountain leader, came on
board.
Halifax was reached about the middle of June. Here
the prisoners were confined on board a sloop, under
guard, and were given very scant rations. Although
several of the prisoners were violently ill of scurvy,
medical aid was refused. Allen sent letter after letter
to Captain Montague, protesting against such treat-
ment, without result. Finally a guard smuggled a letter
to Governor Arbuthnot, which resulted in an investiga-
tion, and the prisoners were removed to Halifax jail
about the middle of August after being confined on the
prison sloop about six weeks. A fellow prisoner here,
whose company Allen enjoyed, was James Lovell, a
member of the Continental Congress from Massa-
chusetts. Although a kind woman of Halifax sent
Allen every day a good dinner of fresh meats and fruits,
illness reduced his strength.
About the middle of October the prisoners were
ordered on board a warship. Captain Smith treated
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 249
Allen with great courtesy and invited him to dine at the
Captain's table. During the voyage a proposal was
made to kill the Captain and principal officers and seize
the ship, but Allen declared that he would defend Cap-
tain Smith, and the conspiracy was dropped. New York
was reached the latter part of October, but it was nearly
a month later when the prisoners were taken ashore.
Allen was admitted to parole and was restricted to the
limits of the city of New York. A regular diet and
exercise in six months' time restored him to a fair de-
gree of health.
During his stay in New York a British officer in-
formed Allen that Sir William Howe was disposed to
make him Colonel of a regiment of Loyalists; that he
might go to England and be introduced to Lord Ger-
maine and probably to the King; that he should be paid
in hard guineas instead of paper rags ; and that he should
have a grant of a large tract of land. Allen replied that
he viewed the offer to be like that which the devil made
to Christ, to give him all the kingdoms of the world if
he would worship him, "when at the same time the
damned soul had not one foot of land upon earth."
Allen was arrested on August 25, 1777, on the charge
of infringing his parole, and was thrown into the provost
jail, where he was subjected to many indignities.
As early as December 2, 1775, the Continental Con-
gress directed General Washington to apply to General
Howe, asking for an exchange of prisoners in order to
secure the release of Ethan Allen. On December 18,
1775, Washington wrote General Howe in the following
vigorous manner: "W^e have just been informed of a
250 HISTORY OF VERMONT
circumstance, which, were it not so well authenticated,
I should scarcely think credible. It is that Colonel
Allen, who (with his small party) was defeated and
taken prisoner near Montreal, has been treated without
regard to decency, humanity or the rules of war; that he
has been thrown into irons, and suffers all the hardships
inflicted upon a common felon. I think it my duty, sir,
to demand and do expect from you an eclaircissement on
this subject; at the same time I flatter myself, from the
character which Mr. Howe bears, as a man of honour,
gentleman and soldier, that my demand will meet with
his approbation. I must take the liberty, also, of in-
forming you that I shall consider your silence as a con-
firmation of the truth of the report, and further assur-
ing you that whatever treatment Colonel Allen receives,
whatever fate he undergoes, such exactly shall be the
treatment and fate of Brigadier Prescott now in our
hands." General Prescott had been made a prisoner
immediately after the capture of Montreal.
Writing to General Schuyler the same day on which
he wrote General Howe, Washington said: "I am
much concerned for Mr. Allen, and that he should be
treated with such severity. I beg that you will have
the matter and manner of his treatment strictly inquired
into, and transmit me an account of the same, and
whether General Prescott was active and instrumental
in occasioning it. From your letter, and General Mont-
gomery's to you, I am led to think he was. If so he is
deserving of our particular notice, and should experi-
ence some marks of your resentment for his cruelty to
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 251
these g-entlemen, and his violations of the rights of
humanity."
Levi Allen wrote General Washington from Salis-
bury, January 27, 1776, telling of efforts to obtain evi-
dence concerning the treatment of his brother Ethan.
British prisoners in Connecticut and neighboring colo-
nies feared to give information, having been charged
by General Prescott and other officers on pain of death
not to mention the fact that Allen had been put in irons.
Levi asked if it would be expedient for him to go to Eng-
land incognito, and if money might be advanced for that
purpose, remarking that "my brother was a man blessed
with more fortitude than fortune." If he could get to
England he thought he might raise a mob in London,
bribe the jailer, or, securing employment with the keeper
of the prison, be able to lay his hand on the key some
night. Levi could muster more than one hundred
pounds of his own property, and added: "Shall regard
spending that no more than one copper. Your Excel-
lency must know Allen was not only a brother but a real
friend. — (I) cannot live without going to England if
my brother is sent there."
Later Levi Allen petitioned Congress for an imme-
diate exchange of his brother and the prisoners taken
with him, saying that he was a prisoner on board the
British fleet, alluding to "the wretched state, worse than
death, into which he hath fallen in defence of his injured
country." Levi's devotion to his brother Ethan seems
pathetic when one reads Ethan's complaint against Levi,
dated at Arlington, January 9, 1779, asking that the
252 HISTORY OF VERMONT
latter's property be confiscated on the ground that he
was a Tory.
Washington wrote Howe on July 30, 1776, saying
that Congress "had particularly mentioned the exchange
of Colonel Ethan Allen for any officer of the same or
equal rank." On August 8, 1776, Allen wrote from
Halifax a letter addressed to the Connecticut Assembly,
which he succeeded in getting through the lines and from
which the following extract is taken : "The fear of re-
taliation has been the sole cause of preserving me from
an ignominious death. I have suffered everything short
of it. Imagination is insufficient to paint the evils, nor
shall I here attempt it. The heavy big irons and hand-
cufifs so benumbed my limbs that I expected to have
lost their use; but on the eighth of January last, having
been released of them, I have recovered my health and
suppleness of limbs, and ardently desire to be with yovi,
as I am fired with adequate indignation to revenge
both my own and my country's wrongs. I am experi-
mentally certain I have fortitude sufficient to face
the invaders of America in the place of danger spread
with all the horrors of war. I am apprehensive that
Governor Tryon and sundry of my old land jobbing
combatants from New York exercise their influence to
detain me a prisoner, hoping a conquest of America may
in future put it into the power of the English govern-
ment to proceed against me as a criminal for taking the
fortresses on Lake Champlain. You are sensible my
confidence in presuming upon these achievements are
predicated on the good faith of Connecticut. I have
never repented that I did it ; and inasmuch as this is the
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 253
colony in which I received my first breath and in which
most of my acquaintance and connections are, have ad-
dressed these Hnes to Your Honors, and further assure
you, provided you can hit upon some measures to pro-
cure my liberty, I will appropriate my remaining days
and freely hazard my life in the service of the colony
and in maintaining the American empire. I thought
to have enrolled my name in the list of illustrious Ameri-
can heroes, but was nipped in the bud. News has been
kept as close as possible from me. I have nothing more
to inform than that the King's officers express less assur-
ance of the conquest of America than they did some time
ago. I have great confidence in the unity, bravery and
strength of the Colonies as everything worth living for
is apparently at stake. Never had any people upon
earth greater inducement to fight, and play the man.
You cannot — nay you must not give over the cause,
though you have to wade through seas of blood."
Allen was confined in the provost jail at New York
for nearly a year. On May 3, 1778, he was removed
from jail and three days later he was exchanged for
Col. Alexander Campbell of the British Army. He was
taken to Elizabethtown Point, and to quote his own
language, ''in a transport of joy landed on liberty
ground." Accompanied by Colonel Sheldon he visited
General Washington's headquarters at Valley Forge,
where he offered his further services as soon as his im-
paired health would permit, and obtained permission
to return home. After being courteously received he
departed in company with General Gates, who treated
him "with the generosity of a lord." On the evening of
254 HISTORY OF VERMONT
the last day of May, 1778, Ethan Allen arrived at Ben-
nington and was welcomed with great joy, as it had been
feared that he was dead. A salute of three guns was
fired that evening, and the next morning by order of
Colonel Herrick, fourteen more guns were fired, not-
withstanding a great scarcity of powder, thirteen for
the United States and one for Vermont. The cannon
used on this occasion was the iron six-pounder brought
from East Hoosick in 1772 when the Green Mountain
Boys prepared to resist an anticipated attack by Gen-
eral Tryon. The first day of June was an occasion of
great rejoicing and the people from the surrounding
towns flocked in to greet their former leader.
After Allen's visit to General Washington, the latter
wrote to the President of Congress: ''I have been
happy in the exchange and a visit from Lieut. Col. Allen.
His fortitude and firmness seem to have placed him out
of the reach of misfortune. There is an original some-
thing about him that commands admiration; and his
long captivity and sufferings have only served to in-
crease, if possible, his enthusiastic zeal. He appears
very desirous of rendering his services to the States and
of being employed; and at the same tiine he does not
discover any ambition for high rank. Congress will
herewith receive a letter from him, and I doubt not they
will make such provision for him as they may think
proper and suitable." Acting upon this suggestion, on
May 14, Congress resolved "that a brevet commission
of Colonel be granted to Ethan Allen in reward of his
fortitude, firmness and zeal in the cause of his country,
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 255
manifested during the course of his long and cruel cap-
tivity, as well as on former occasions."
In May, 1777, a party of thirteen Tories passed
through or near Pittsford on the way to Canada to join
the British. Capt. James Bentley and twenty-one others
determined to capture them. Approaching the place in
Monkton where the Tories were encamped, Bentley's de-
tachment waited imtil their enemies slept, then rushed
upon them with a great noise and made them all prison-
ers. The next day a court was convened at Neshobe
(Brandon), the trial lasting two and one-half days, the
prisoners being sentenced to be delivered to the Ameri-
can garrison at Ticonderoga, where they were taken by
Captain Bentley and his detachment.
After the battle of Hubbardton, the men of Pittsford
erected a log fort on the eastern bank of Otter Creek.
A high breastwork of hemlock logs placed endwise in
the ground inclosed an area of about three- fourths of
an acre. A corner of this fortification extended into
the channel of the creek, supplying the occupants with
plenty of water. A log dwelling in the center of the
inclosure was utilized as a blockhouse. In 1778 the
State repaired and strengthened the fortification, which
was known later as Fort Mott, the name being given in
honor of John Mott, its commandant. This region had
been a favorite Indian hunting ground, and bands of
Tories and Indians frequently visited Pittsford.
In September, 1777, John and Joseph Rowley, boys
aged respectively eleven and fifteen years, were seized
in Pittsford by Indians and carried to Canada. A few
days later Thomas and Gideon Sheldon of the same
256 HISTORY OF VERMONT
town were returning from the field with a load of grain,
when they were attacked and captured by the Indians.
The house was plundered and the entreaties of the
mother for the release of her sons were unavailing. The
house of Felix Powell was attacked in the night, while
he was absent. Mrs. Powell, suspecting that Indians
were near, had secreted herself in the thicket nearby,
from which place she witnessed the plundering and burn-
ing of her home. Amid such surroundings, before
morning, Mrs. Powell gave birth to a child.
As a result of these outrages, acting upon the advice
of some of the influential citizens of the towns of Wal-
lingford, Clarendon, Rutland and Pittsford, a company
of sixty men was raised in Clarendon and vicinity, com-
manded by Capt. Abraham Salisbury. This company
went to Pittsford October 17, 1777, remaining there
eight days. Early in 1778 nearly all the able bodied
men of Pittsford were organized into a company of
militia, under Capt. Benjamin Cooley, which became a
part of the Fifth regiment, commanded by Col. Gideon
Warren.
For the protection of settlers in Maidstone, Guildhall
and Lunenburg, and other towns on the New Hamp-
shire side of the Connecticut River, known as the Upper
Coos, three small forts were built, two at Northumber-
land, N. H., and one at Stratford, N. H. These forts
were under the command of Capt. Ward Bayley of
Maidstone. When an alarm was given, the women and
children fled to the forts. Owing to his active opposi-
tion to Indians and Tories, an attempt was made to cap-
ture Captain Bayley, but without success. A few pris-
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 257
oners were taken to Canada who suffered much from
hunger on the march.
On request of General Stark, an order was issued in
January, 1778, to Capt. Samuel Robinson, Overseer of
Tories, "to detail ten effective men under proper offi-
cers," to march in two files, beating and treading the
snow from Bennington through the pass of the Green
Mountains to the residence of Col. William Williams in
Draper (Wilmington), making a road of sufficient width
for sleighs.
A reference in the proceedings of the Council of
Safety, dated February 28, 1778, shows that a scout of
about twenty- four men had been assigned for the pro-
tection of the people of the northern frontiers. On
March 5 the Council voted to raise two companies of
fifty men each in response to an appeal from the frontier
inhabitants near Lake Champlain and Otter Creek. On
the following day Capt. Ebenezer Allen was directed to
raise men with all possible dispatch, presumably a part
of the force authorized March 5, and march thence to
a fort in New Haven, possibly one erected during the
trouble with New York. Scouts were ordered to recon-
noitre the woods, and reports were to be made from time
to time to the Colonel or the commander of the Northern
Department.
Among the early settlers of the town of Shelburne
was Moses Pierson, who had remained on his farm after
most of the other proprietors on the northern frontier
had sought safety farther south. He had harvested
his wheat during the summer of 1777, but had removed
his family to Orwell for safety. Toward the end of the
258 HISTORY OF VERMONT
winter, the Pierson family returned to Shelburne to
thresh the wheat, and learning of threatened danger
from a marauding expedition from Canada, Mr. Pier-
son notified the military authorities, who sent Capt.
Thomas Sawyer of Clarendon, two officers and fourteen
men as a guard. The farm house was built of hewn
logs and provided with portholes. Upon his arrival
Captain Sawyer, learning that a hostile band had been
seen in the vicinity, proceeded to barricade the house and
only one window was left unsecured. In the early
morning hours of the next day, March 12, 1778, an
attack was made by a party of Indians and Tories, said
to number about sixty. At the first fire Joshua Wood-
ward of Pitts ford and Samuel Daniels of Salisbury, who
had come to Shelburne to buy wheat, were killed by bul-
lets, which entered through the one unfortified window.
The house was set on fire by the enemy, and in an
attempt to extinguish the flames, Lieut. Barnabas Bar-
num of Monkton was mortally wounded. A second
time the house was set on fire and Captain Sawyer
offered his watch as a reward to any person who would
extinguish the flames. The supply of water was ex-
hausted but Joseph Williams broke a hole through the
roof and put out the fire with pails of beer from a sup-
ply which Mrs. Pierson had brewed. About daylight
the enemy abandoned the attack and retreated over the
ice of Lake Champlain, several of their party having
been killed. A British Captain, whose name is said to
have been Larama, and an Indian chief were among the
number, some of the bodies being thrown into a crack in
the ice near Logan's Point. Captain Sawyer took the
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 259
nose jewels, the powder horn and the bullet pouch of
the dead chieftain as trophies. The Vermont records
show that one John Stearns was paid for eighteen days'
labor in caring for five men wounded in the Shelburne
battle. During the engagement Mrs. Pierson and four
children were lying in two beds in the house and were
unharmed. The British authorities offered a reward
for Moses Pierson, dead or alive, but he removed to
Shoreham and Rutland and did not return to Shelburne
until 1783.
In November, 1778, a British force entered Lake
Champlain from Canada and ravaged towns along the
shore as far as Ticonderoga. A party of British,
Tories and Indians visited Pittsford, but the people of
that town had been warned and had assembled at Eort
Mott, where preparations were made for a vigorous re-
sistance. Some houses were attacked and Col. Gideon
Warren's regiment was called out for a service of about
one week in defending the frontiers.
The disastrous Canadian expedition of 1775-1776 did
not deter many Americans from desiring to make an-
other attempt to capture the northern province. Gen-
eral Stark was chosen by Congress on December 3, 1777,
to command a secret expedition, having as one of its
objects the destruction of the British shipping on Lake
Champlain or at St. Johns. Soon after plans were made
for an "irruption into Canada," and General Lafayette
was selected for the command. General McDougall
was to accompany him if his health permitted, and if
not Baron DeKalb was to be associated with Lafayette.
260 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Six French gentlemen were appointed to act as officers
of any Canadian forces that might be enlisted.
Through Col. Udney Hay, Vermont was requested to
raise men and on January 24, 1778, a bounty of ten dol-
lars was offered to encourage raising three hundred sol-
diers under Lieutenant Colonel Herrick "for a certain
expedition." Plans were made early in February, 1778,
to raise six regiments under Colonels Moses Robinson,
Timothy Brownson, James Mead, Joseph Marsh, Peter
Olcott and William Williams. Three hundred men
under Colonel Herrick were to serve until the last day
of April. Twenty-five sleighs were to be furnished and
assistance was to be given in the collection of hay and
provisions and the transportation of flour. An order
was issued on February 25 to desist raising more sol-
diers, as it was reported that the Canadian expedition
had been abandoned. Lafayette went to Albany, N. Y.,
on February 17, where he found that conditions did not
warrant an ofifensive movement.
The Vermont troops raised were needed for the de-
fence of the frontiers, and Capts. Isaac Clark and
Ebenezer Allen was assigned to guard the northern
frontiers. Captain Allen was ordered on March 6.
1778, to raise men and post them at the New Haven fort,
possibly the blockhouse at the falls of Otter Creek built
by the Green Mountain Boys in 1773, and scouts were
ordered out to reconnoitre for the enemy. About the
middle of February a "little scout," sent down the lake
by order of General Stark, was captured. In April,
1778, Warner's regiment was ordered to Albany and the
frontier was left with no regular troops for protection.
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 261
A stockaded fort covering about two acres was built at
Rutland with a two-story blockhouse at one end of the
inclosure.
Gen. Jacob Bay ley of Newbury was not willing to
abandon the idea of a Canadian invasion. He sent
Colonel Bedel with several companions into Canada on
October 13, 1778, to gain information concerning exist-
ing conditions. The scouts reported their belief that
the inhabitants would rise and throw off the British yoke
if a force could be sent sufficiently large to afford pro-
tection. Preparations were begun at once for another
Canadian expedition and military stores were collected
at Haverhill, N. H., and at Newbury.
A party was sent to Peacham in December, 1778, to
resume the building of the military road to Canada,
where General Bayley abandoned the work in 1776.
Col. Moses Hazen was ordered to move his military
stores to Peacham. A considerable portion of Bedel's
regiment and Whitcomb's Rangers were sent to
Peacham and began work in May, 1779. A blockhouse
was built there, and as the building of the road
proceeded, other blockhouses were built at Cabot,
Walden and Greensboro. Swamps were bridged with
logs, and wells were dug. Work was discontinued late
in August, 1779, probably because it was reported that
troops were to be sent from St. Johns to capture the
construction party. Garrisons were stationed in the
blockhouses along this road from time to time, as occa-
sion demanded, until the end of the war. It has been
supposed by some writers that the building of this road
was a stratagem to deceive the British and prevent the
262 HISTORY OF VERMONT
sending of troops from Canada to New York. It is
more probable, however, that the road was built for mili-
tary purposes as a part of a plan to invade Quebec.
According to Miller and Wells' "History of Rye-
gate," the Bayley-Hazen road began at Wells River
in the town of Newbury and proceeded thence to Rye-
gate Corner, to Peacham Corner, through the southwest
part of Danville into Cabot, over Cabot Plain, between
Joe's and Molly's Ponds into Walden, thence into Hard-
wick, crossing the Lamoille River by way of Hardwick
street to Greensboro, between Caspian Lake and Ely's
Pond to Craftsbury Common, thence west of Hosmer
Pond along the east side of Lovk^ell Mountain to Lowell
village, west by Walker's Pond, through the southwest-
ern part of Westfield to the summit of a notch in West-
field Mountain, fifty- four miles from the starting point.
The town of Walden was named in honor of an officer
who was left in command of a blockhouse erected there.
General Bayley did not abandon the idea of invading
Canada and he wrote to General Washington frequently
in regard to the project.
The Governor and Council, acting as a Board of War,
on March 12, 1779, issued an order declaring that "the
north line of Castleton, the north and west lines of Pitts-
ford to the foot of the Green Mountains, be and is here-
by established a line between the inhabitants of this
State and the enemy, — and all the inhabitants of this
State living to the north of said line are directed and
ordered to move with their families and effects within
said lines." It was recommended that both Castleton
and Pittsford erect a picket fort near the center of each
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 263
town. Fort Ranger in Rutland was the headquarters
for miHtary operations and its commandant was Capt.
Thomas Sawyer.
In October, 1779, the Legislature elected as a Board
of War, Governor Chittenden, Ira Allen, Joseph Bowker,
Ebenezer Allen, Joseph Bradley, Samuel Fletcher, Ben-
jamin Wait, Jonathan Fassett and Timothy Brownson.
In the spring of 1780 the Board of War ordered that a
fort large enough to accommodate one hundred and fifty
men should be built near the north line of Pitts ford, and
that a picket fort should be built at Hubbardton with
barracks for seventy-five men.
In November, 1779, another Indian raid occurred,
which affords an illustration of the hardships endured
by the pioneers during the Revolution. The houses of
Capt. Thomas Tuttle and Joseph Barker, and a sawmill
in Brandon were burned by a party of the enemy from
Canada, Mr. Barker being taken prisoner.
Left alone with a child fourteen months old, Mrs.
Barker started for the home of a friend three miles dis-
tant. Night having fallen, she was compelled to stop
for shelter at a deserted house, where two years before
two neighbors had been killed by the savages. Here, in
this lonely and gruesome place, not knowing whether
her husband was alive or dead, with no companion but a
babe scarcely more than a year old, she gave birth to a
child. The next day a searching party headed by Mrs.
Barker's father found her, and with her children, she
was taken to a place of safety. Mr. Barker, feigning
illness, escaped and soon joined his family.
264 HISTORY OF VERMONT
In May, 1780, Sir John Johnson with a party of Tories
and Indians, made a raid into the Mohawk valley. Gov-
ernor Clinton hastened to Lake George to intercept him
and called on the Vermont officials for aid. Capt.
Ebenezer Allen and two hundred men at once responded.
They assembled at Mount Independence on Lake Cham-
plain, but lacking boats could proceed no farther.
Johnson, however, returned by way of Crown Point and
avoided the American troops. On August 9, 1780, a
party of twenty-one Indians attacked Barnard and cap-
tured three prisoners.
Early in October Major Carleton came up the lake
from St. Johns with eight large vessels and one thousand
regulars, Loyalists and Indians, to create a diversion in
favor of Johnson, who attacked the Schoharie and
Mohawk regions. Captain Johnson, with about eighty
of Warner's regiment, held Fort George. Being nearly
destitute of supplies, he sent a messenger on October 11
to Fort Edward for provisions. This messenger was
fired upon by a party of twenty-five men, but returned to
the fort in safety. Supposing this to be a scouting
party, Chipman sent out all but fourteen of his men.
They met the enemy not far from the fort and nearly
every man was killed or captured. After a short re-
sistance Fort George was taken and Fort Ann also was
captured. This attack caused the greatest alarm in the
Champlain valley. The Vermont militia was ordered
to rendezvous at Castleton and Gen. Ethan Allen was
elected commander. The British, however, kept on the
west side of Lake Champlain and soon returned to
Canada. With the removal of immediate danger, the
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 265
militia and volunteers were discharged. From a store-
house at Center Rutland, ammunition and provisions
were distributed to forts at East Rutland, Castleton and
Pitts ford.
Early in 1780 the exportation of wheat, rye, Indian
corn, flour, meal, beef, pork, or any other provisions,
was forbidden, except for military purposes. On
October 9 of that year, in order to raise funds for the
defence of the State, the General Assembly made ar-
rangements for selling unsettled and ungranted portions
of the territory. The first grant made was the town
of Montpelier, destined to become the capital of the new
commonwealth.
In the autumn of 1780 a raiding party of three hun-
dred men was organized in Canada, its purpose being
to attack Newbury and capture Lieut. Benjamin Whit-
comb of that town, who, in 1776, while in command of
a scout on the Sorel River, had mortally wounded Gen-
eral Gordon of the British army, as the latter was rid-
ing from Chambly to St. Johns, and had taken his watch
and sword. Several unsuccessful attempts had been
made to capture Whitcomb, but it was believed that a
better opportunity now was afforded. A man named
Hamilton, who had been taken prisoner by the Ameri-
cans and had been at Newbury and Royalton the pre-
vious summer on parole, having fled to Canada, was en-
gaged as guide. A British Lieutenant named Horton
was in command, and a Canadian named La Motte was
next in authority. All but seven of the party were
Indians.
266 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Early in October, Capt. Nehemiah Lovewell of New-
bury, who had been sent with a company of rangers to
garrison the blockhouses at Peacham and Cabot and
guard the Bayley-Hazen road, while scouting near the
Lamoille River discovered this party of Indian invaders
proceeding in a southerly direction through the woods.
Sending out his fleetest runners, a warning was given
to the Connecticut River towns. Many of the people
of Newbury fled to Haverhill, N. H. Wells, in his
"History of Newbury," says: "The alarm reached
Newbury after dark, and that night was one the like of
which this town has never seen since. People left their
homes as they were, the fires burning, their bread in the
ovens, their suppers untasted, and fled for their lives.
Some few retained presence of mind to secrete their most
valuable possessions. The wife of Capt. John G. Bay-
ley lowered all her crockery and silver spoons into the
well. Mrs. Ebenezer Eaton * * * hid her spoons
and her husband's knee buckles so well that she was
never able to find them again."
The militia turned out from Bath to Charlestown, on
the New Hampshire side of the Connecticut, and in a
day or two people returned to their homes. Meanwhile
the party of Indians followed the Winooski valley as far
as the present site of Montpelier. Here they encoun-
tered Jacob Fowler of Newbury and one or two com-
panions who were hunting. Fowler was considered a
Tory and told Lieutenant Horton that Newbury had
been alarmed and that the militia had assembled. An
attack upon Hanover, N. H., was considered, but was
abandoned on account of high water in the Connecticut
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 267
River. Passing through Barre, Orange, Washington
and Chelsea, Tunbridge was reached Saturday night,
October 14. The Indians remained in camp here over
Sunday, and early Monday morning, October 16, 1780,
before daylight, they attacked and plundered the house
of John Hutchinson, taking him and his brother Abijah
prisoners. Going a little farther, Thomas Pember and
Elias Button were killed by spear thrusts and were
scalped. Several prisoners were taken at the homes of
Joseph Kneeland and Elias Curtis.
By this time the alarm was given and the road was
filled with fleeing men, women and children. Some,
mounted upon horses, made their escape, while others
were captured. Phineas Parkhurst, on horseback, car-
ried a woman and her little daughter to a place of safety,
then returned to assist others. A bullet from an
Indian's gun passed through his body and lodged under
the skin. Grasping the bullet between his thumb and
fingers he galloped down the White River valley, giving
warning of the raid and crossed the ferry to Lebanon,
where his wound was dressed.
The Indians burned one house in Tunbridge, several
houses in Randolph, twenty-one in Royalton and sixteen
new barns filled with hay and grain. About one hun-
dred and fifty cattle and many sheep and swine were
killed and thirty horses were taken together with
plunder from the homes of the farmers. Twenty-six
prisoners were captured.
News of the raid spread rapidly, considering the
limited means of communication, and by evening a
force of two hundred and fifty or three hundred men
268 HISTORY OF VERMONT
assembled at the house of Mr. Evans in Randolph and
chose Col. John House of Hanover, N. H., as their com-
mander. The Indians had crossed the Tunbridge hills
and encamped near the second branch of the White
River, about ten miles from the Royalton settlement.
They had sent back an aged man with a message to the
militia declaring that "if they were not followed the
prisoners should be used well — but should they be pur-
sued every one of them should be put to death."
It was supposed that the Indians had gone to Brook-
field, and about midnight the Americans started, hoping
that they might reach that place before morning and
capture the whole party. Colonel House and his men
hardly had started when they were fired upon by the
rear guard of the enemy, and one of the party was
wounded. The Americans returned the fire, killing one
of the enemy and wounding two others. Here Colonel
House halted his force and waited for morning. The
Indians abandoned most of the horses and much of their
plunder and fled over the hills. Two prisoners, Joseph
Kneeland and Giles Gibbs were killed at this camp.
Proceeding up the second branch of the White River
into Brookfield, and failing to find the enemy, the troops
were disbanded and sent home. The retreating Indians
passed through Brookfield and Northfield to the Winoo-
ski River, which was followed to its mouth. The pris-
oners were taken to Montreal and sold for about eight
dollars each. Most of them were exchanged and re-
turned home the following summer. Colonel House
was criticized for his failure to act promptly in pursuing
the Indians. During the summer of 1781 a blockhouse
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 269
was erected at Royalton. A monument on the village
green at Royalton commemorates the burning of the
homes of this little settlement.
During the years 1781 and 1782 there were many
"alarms," caused by the raids of small parties of Indians
and Tories and a considerable body of troops was em-
ployed in guarding the frontier. Several small block-
houses were built, among them fortifications at Corinth
and Barnet, others along the Bayley-Hazen Road and
some in the region known as Upper Coos. During part
of this period a daily patrol was maintained between
various posts. In the summer of 1782 an unsuccessful
attempt was made to capture Gen. Jacob Bayley of New-
bury by a small party commanded by Captain Pritchard.
One resident of Newbury was wounded, a few prisoners
w^ere taken and several inhabitants of Corinth were
forced to swear allegiance to the British King. It is
said that the losses which General Bayley sustained
amounted to not less than sixty thousand dollars. He
sacrificed his entire estate, and died a poor man.
The comparative freedom of the Coos country from
Indian raids is reported to have been due to the influence
of Joseph Brant, a powerful Mohawk chieftain, who was
educated in President Wheelock's Indian School at Han-
over, N. H.
In June, 1781, a band of Caughnawaga Indians under
a chieftain known as Tomo, planned an attack on Fort
Vengeance in Pitts ford. Their presence, however, had
been discovered, and an ambuscade was planned which
threw the Indians into confusion and they fled, aban-
doning the attack. Early in August General Stark was
270 HISTORY OF VERMONT
placed in command of the Northern department with
headquarters at Saratoga, and he kept in constant touch
with the mihtary authorities of Vermont, a fact not at
all to the liking of Governor Clinton of New York.
It was feared in 1782 that the large British force in
Canada would invade the northern frontier, and in Feb-
ruary the Legislature ordered the raising of three hun-
dred men to garrison the frontier posts.
In July, 1781, a British blockhouse was erected on
what is known as Dutchman's Point on North Hero
island by Capt. Justus Sherwood and a party of twenty-
three men and boys. Sherwood had been a Tory leader
during the war and as such had figured in the battle of
Hubbardton. He was an officer of a corps known as
the Queen's Loyal Rangers, recruited from American
Loyalists who had fied to Canada. He left his home in
New Haven, Vt., in 1776, going to St. Johns. Later he
was granted a tract of one thousand acres near Brock-
ville, Canada.
This new fort was used during the last year or two
of the war as the headquarters of a secret corps of obser-
vation under Captain Sherwood and as a stopping place
for Loyalists on their way to Canada, and made as little
trouble as a garrison could under such circumstances.
The blockhouse was held by the British long after the
close of the war and was not evacuated until the summer
of 1796. The garrison was scrupulously careful not to
offend the people in the vicinity after hostilities had
ceased.
A large part of the service of Vermont men during the
Revolutionary War was for short periods. They were
^i' 'J
ft'"
k
FiiQ lij WiiliimB Weu/iai- H
Gov. George Clinton of New York,
Leader of the opposition to Vermont's admission to the Union
^.ka
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 271
called out for some definite task, responding to an
"alarm," and when the immediate danger had passed,
they were discharged and returned to protect their homes
and cultivate their farms. The companies and the regi-
ments were small and the number of officers sometimes
appears to have been disproportionately large.
"The Vermont Revolutionary Rolls," compiled by the
authority of the State by Prof. J. E. Goodrich, gives
the principal officers commanding Vermont troops dur-
ing the War for Independence as follows: Brigadier
Generals, Ethan Allen, Jacob Bayley, Roger Enos,
Moses Hazen, Peter Olcott, Joseph Safiford; Colonels,
John Abbott, Ebenezer Allen, Ira Allen, Timothy Bedel,
Stephen R. Bradley, James Claghorn, Isaac Clark, Cor-
nelius Doty, Samuel Fletcher, Samuel Herrick, Robert
Johnson, Thomas Johnson, Thomas Lee, — Lyon, Joel
Marsh, Joseph Marsh, — Marshall, James Mead, Moses
Robinson, John Sargeant, Benjamin Wait, Ebenezer
Walbridge, Seth Warner, Gideon Warren, — Webster,
William Williams, Ebenezer Wood.
The Vermont Gazette, in its edition of June 3, 1783,
records the celebration at Pawlet of the news of peace
between Great Britain and America. A sermon was
preached by Rev. Mr. Miller and an oration was deliv-
ered by Israel Smith of Rupert, later one of Vermont's
most distinguished men. There was a military parade,
a salute of fourteen guns was fired and a dinner was
served. Late in July General Washington visited
Crown Point, as the Gazette says, "to view the ruins of
the fortifications and judge the expediency of repairing
them." In this connection it may be recalled that
272 HISTORY OF VERMONT
earlier in the war Washington was strongly opposed to
the abandonment of Crown Point in favor of Ticon-
deroga. No mention is made of a visit to Vermont by
Washington. At this time Baron Steuben is said to have
made a tour through the Champlain valley to view the
most proper places for establishing garrisons on the
frontiers.
It is impossible to make anything like an accurate esti-
mate of the number of Tories or Loyalists in Vermont.
In most of the townships the friends of the new Ameri-
can government constituted a large majority of the popu-
lation, but in a few of them the Tories predominated.
The Dorset Convention voted on July 24, 1776, "that as
it appears that the inhabitants of Arlington are princi-
pally Tories, yet the friends of liberty are ordered to
warn a meeting and choose a committee of safety and
conduct as in other towns." There was a large Tory
population in Guilford, and for several years this faction
contended with the Whigs for control of the town.
There were frequent collisions and each faction when in
power endeavored to deprive its rivals of the right of
suffrage. Probably the Tories constituted a majority
of the people of Clarendon, where most of the friends
of New York were British sympathizers and took pro-
tection papers from General Burgoyne. A large num-
ber of towns contained a minority of Loyalists; and as
in other States, so in Vermont, these people often were
numbered among the most prosperous and influential
citizens. Daniel Chipman. who was associated with
some of the Vermont leaders of the Revolutionary
period, has said: "A less proportion of Tories were
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 273
found among them (the people of the New Hampshire
Grants) than were found in other States." As a result
of arrests, acts of confiscation and the open hostility of
their republican neighbors, many of the Loyalists left
the State, most of them going to Canada, where some of
them were granted lands by the crown. In an act re-
lating to Tories, passed by the Vermont Legislature,
reference is made to one hundred and eight persons who
had left the State voluntarily. This act provided that
if any of the persons mentioned returned to the State
voluntarily they should receive not more than forty and
not less than twenty stripes on the naked back and be
ordered to quit the State immediately. If any person,
after conviction, should remain in the State one month
"or presume to come again into this State," the death
penalty might be imposed.
In July, 1783, the British Parliament appointed a com-
mission of five members to classify the losses and serv-
ices of the American Loyalists, more than five thousand
of whom had submitted claims for compensation. In
"The Loyalists in the American Revolution," Van
Tyne gives as the most complete list to be obtained of
the claims admitted by the commissioners, a total of two
thousand, five hundred and sixty, more than one-third
of which came from New York. There were sixty-one
claimants in Vermont.
Naturally the hostility between Whigs and Tories
engendered a spirit of bitterness and vindictiveness that
sometimes resulted in bloodshed. It is related in a
sketch of Danby that a few of the people in that town
who were considered Tories were shot near their own
274 HISTORY OF VERMONT
homes. A vote adopted at a town meeting held in New-
bury, June 3, 1783, read as follows: '*No person that
hath joyned the Enemy shall have any abidence in this
town, and any person that shall harbor or feed them
shall get the Displeasure of the town by so doing."
Although Vermont adopted stern measures with the
Tories, yet an examination of laws enacted and orders
issued during the Revolutionary period will show many
acts of leniency toward the families of Loyalists, in pro-
tecting the needy from destitution and in aiding such
people to cultivate their farms, when only the husband
and father had fled. After peace was declared the gen-
eral policy of Vermont leaders was one of conciliation.
One of the most conspicuous figures among Vermont
Loyalists was Crean Brush, a native of Ireland, who
came to New York in 1762. In 1771 he removed to
Westminster, having acquired large tracts of lands by
grant from New York in the region now known as Ver-
mont. He was made clerk of Cumberland county in
1772 and from 1773 to 1775 he was an active member
of the New York Assembly. He joined General Gage
at Boston soon after the Revolutionary War began and
had charge of the property in the buildings seized by
the British authorities as winter quarters for the officers
and troops. He became involved in difficulties through
illegal seizure of goods and was confined in jail. He
had married the widow of a British officer and she im-
personated him in jail and enabled him to escape. He
fled to New York but did not gain favor there and com-
mitted suicide. A daughter of Mrs. Brush, the child of
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 275
her first husband, became the second wife of Ethan
Allen.
Justus Sherwood was proprietor's clerk in the town
of New Haven from 1774 to 1776 and removed to
Shaftsbury. As he was an avowed Loyalist, he was
punished as such at Bennington. He was so exas-
perated that he raised a company of Tories and joined
the British army in Canada. His activities in the battle
of Hubbardton already have been related. D. P.
Thompson made him one of his principal characters in
"The Green Mountain Boys."
John Peters was one of the early settlers in Brad-
ford, or Mooretown, as it was then called, being Mod-
erator of its first town meeting. He became clerk of
Cumberland county and a Judge of the Superior Court
of Common Pleas. He was a devoted Loyalist and his
property was confiscated. He fled to Nova Scotia with
his family and raised a body of troops called the Queen's
Loyal Rangers, which he commanded. He led a de-
tachment of Tories in the battle of Bennington.
Luke Knowlton, the first Town Clerk of Newfane,
and a prominent citizen, was a friend of the British
cause. According to ''Hemenway's Gazetteer," ''in con-
sequence of the great sacrifices he made in behalf of the
British Government in the early part of the Revolution-
ary War, he received a large and valuable grant of land
in Lower Canada upon a part of which the present town
of Sherbrooke is built." Although he did not go to
Canada to reside permanently, some of his family did
and his descendants became prominent men in the
Dominion. Later Knowlton held positions of honor in
276 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Vermont, was a member of the Legislature, a Judge of
the courts and a member of the Council.
Noah Sabin of Putney was a Judge of Cumberland
County Court under New York jurisdiction and was
one of the occupants of the bench at the time of the
Westminster Massacre. On account of his Loyalist
sympathies, the Committee of Safety, in 1776, ordered
that he be confined to the limits of his farm and per-
mission was given any person to shoot him if he dis-
obeyed the order. So bitter was the feeling against him
that some of his neighbors secreted themselves in the
woods nearby with loaded rifles and watched Judge
Sabin's movements. In 1781 he was elected Judge of
Probate, but was suspended on complaint of certain per-
sons who considered him a dangerous Loyalist. Later
he was reinstated.
In Hayes' "History of Rockingham" reference is
made to a protest signed by about fifty of the people
of that town to the election of Noah Sabin as Judge
of Probate, John Bridgman, Luke Knowlton and Ben-
jamin Burt as County Court Judges and Jonathan Hunt
as High Sheriff . These men were called "friends of
ministerial Tirrany and Usurpation, who until within a
few days had been aVowed Enemies to all authority save
that Derived from the Crown of Great Britain." The
signers declared that they could see no difiference "be-
tween being hailed to Great Britain for Tryal or being
Tryed by these Tools amongst our Selves." Their pro-
tests were not heeded, and it is intimated that Governor
Chittenden considered it wise to conciliate the Tory
element in this State.
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 277
Jehiel Hawley of Arlington was known as "the
father of the town" and was a man of much influence
and had been prominent in the resistance to New York
authority. He was considered a LoyaHst and late in
the year 1777 he left for Canada, but died on the way.
His residence was occupied by Governor Chittenden.
John Munro of Shaftsbury, one of the most violent
partisans of New York in the land controversy, was a
Loyalist. ■ His lands and property were confiscated
"except two cows and such other effects" as were needed
for the support of his family. Col. William Marsh of
Dorset was not originally a Loyalist, but when Bur-
goyne captured Ticonderoga, Marsh and others be-
came panic stricken, and with a number of avowed
Tories, went to Canada. His property was confiscated
and this included certain lands in Burlington which
were sold to Ethan Allen, on which he spent the last
years of his life. Later Colonel Marsh was permitted
to return. Daniel Marsh of Clarendon had a similar
experience. After his return he represented his town
in the Legislature. The Council of Censors severely
censured the General Assembly which restored to Daniel
Marsh his property.
Capt. Ebenezer Willoughby of Windsor, a member
of the Convention held in June, 1777, later joined the
British. He was captured and his property was con-
fiscated. Col. Asa Porter and Col. John Taplin of
Newbury were Loyalists. The former is said to have
owned the greater part of the town of Topsham and
large tracts in Newbury. His property was confiscated
and to reimburse him for his losses and sufferings, he
278 HISTORY OF VERMONT
received from the Crown the township of Broome,
Quebec. One of his granddaughters became the wife
of Rufus Choate. It is said that the Tories of New-
bury and Haverhill, N. H., plotted ceaselessly against
the American cause.
Asa Baldwin, the first Town Clerk of Dorset, was a
Loyalist, and a man of education and culture. His
property was confiscated and he was compelled to leave
the State. Later his property was restored and he be-
came one of the most respected and useful citizens of
Dorset. The first Town Clerk of Arlington was a
British sympathizer also, and fled to Canada. Samuel
Adams of Arlington formed a company of Tories in his
own town, Manchester, Sandgate and vicinity, to aid
General Burgoyne.
John McNeal of Tinmouth, an innkeeper, was a
Loyalist. His farm was confiscated and its sale is said
to have put more money into the State treasury than any
other taken in this manner, because, unlike many of
those sold, it was free from debt. Lands owned in
Hartland by Whitehead Hicks, at one time Mayor of
New York City, were confiscated. His holdings
amounted to one thousand, four hundred and twenty-two
acres and those owned by one of the Stuyvesants, also
confiscated, amounted to one thousand, four hundred
and eighty-eight acres. For the sale of these lands the
State received £1,118.
Some of the Dutch residents of Pownal w^ere Loyal-
ists. The first proprietor's clerk in Rupert was a Loyal-
ist. When Burgoyne approached Ticonderoga most of
the inhabitants of Rupert fled and for two or three years
LATER MILITARY OPERATIONS 279
thereafter the town was largely in the possession of
British and Tories. A party of six or eight Tories
attempted to capture Maj. Gideon Ormsby of Manches-
ter, but not finding him at home made his son a prisoner.
A rescuing party pursued and recaptured the young
man. In 1780 most of the British and Tories left this
region. During this period many families were
compelled to abandon their homes as a matter of per-
sonal safety. In not a few instances lands temporarily
vacated were occupied by squatters. Such occupancy
naturally resulted in quarrels and litigation, and a spirit
of bitterness was engendered. The intense hostility
toward Loyalists is illustrated by the fact that these
squatters almost invariably characterized as Tories
those who sought to oust them.
It is true that many of the Loyalists were exemplary
citizens and leaders in their respective communities. It
is true that they suffered great hardships for principles
in which they firmly believed. So many years have
elapsed since these events occurred that it is possible
to review them dispassionately. Indeed, there is a ten-
dency in some quarters to blame the American people of
that early day for the bitterness shown toward those
who were loyal to the King. It must not be forgotten,
however, when the evidence is weighed in seeking to ar-
rive at a just verdict, that the success of the Loyalist
cause meant the defeat of American independence,
severe punishment and perhaps death for the leaders
who sought to establish a free government, and the con-
fiscation of much of the property held by those who fol-
lowed the standard set up by George Washington.
280 HISTORY OF VERMONT
When men are fighting for their homes, their liberty
and their lives, they are likely to deal in stern and sum-
mary fashion with their enemies. If the treatment of
the Loyalists seems unjust it may not be amiss to con-
sider what would have happened if the King's arms had
been victorious.
Chaptkr XXIII
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE
AMONG the many serious troubles that menaced
the existence of the new State government was
the vigorous opposition of a faction in Cumber-
land county, which was determined to maintain the
authority of New York in that portion of Vermont. At
a meeting of committees representing the towns of
Brattleboro, Fulham, Guilford, Hinsdale, Putney,
Rockingham, Springfield, Weathersfield and Westmin-
ster, held at Brattleboro May 4, 1779, a petition was
signed and forwarded to Governor Clinton, alleging that
a state of anarchy existed and asking for the protection
of New York. It was claimed that Vermont partisans
had confiscated and sold valuable property, intimidated
the citizens of New York, and brought about a situation
that could not long be endured.
About this time a Captain of a Vermont militia com-
pany, residing in Putney, ordered Capt. James Clay and
two other persons, claiming to be citizens of New York,
to provide a man to go into service to guard the fron-
tiers. This service having been refused a substitute
was secvtred, and the expense was charged to Captain
Clay and his associates. As they declined to pay the
charges, two cows were seized and ordered to be sold.
On April 28, the day appointed for the sale, nearly one
hundred New York partisans under the leadership of
Col. Eleazer Patterson took possession of the cattle and
returned them to their owners. Fearing that this
might not be the end of the matter. Colonel Patterson
reported the affair to Governor Clinton, informing him
that Colonel Fletcher of Vermont had gone to Arling-
ton, presumably to secure assistance to enforce the
284 HISTORY OF VERMONT
authority of the new State. He suggested, therefore,
the necessity of having the mihtia of Albany county held
in readiness to attack the Vermonters if the latter should
attempt to enforce their authority in Cumberland county.
Patterson claimed to have nearly five hundred officers
and men under his command, poorly armed and equipped.
Governor Clinton replied, urging firmness and prudence
and no submission to Vermont authority unless the alter-
native was "inevitable ruin," desiring to take no fur-
ther step until the sentiment of Congress could be
learned.
Colonel Patterson's suspicions were well founded, and
the Vermont Council in May ordered Ethan Allen to
engage one hundred volunteers in Bennington county,
and march them across the Green Mountains to assist
the Sheriff in enforcing the civil authority of Vermont.
In a report made to Governor Clinton by Samuel
Minott, chairman of the Cumberland county committee
favorable to New York, it appears that Allen and a
party of Green Mountain Boys appeared in the county
on May 24, well armed and equipped, and made prisoners
of Colonel Patterson, Lieutenant Colonel Sargent, all
the militia officers in Brattleboro with one exception, the
militia officers in Putney and Westminster and some
other persons. The letter, after alluding to the critical
situation of the people, urged that speedy and effectual
relief be sent, adding: "Otherwise our persons and
property must be at the disposal of Ethan Allen, which
is more to be dreaded than death with all its terrors."
Clinton threatened to send the greater part of one
thousand men raised for the defence of the frontiers, to
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 285
Brattleboro, for the protection of that and adjacent
towns unless the interposition of Congress should render
such a step unnecessary. The New York delegates on
May 22 had introduced a series of resolutions in Con-
gress, which provided that the extent of boundaries of
the thirteen States should be considered the same as
those of the thirteen colonies, and that "no part of any
one of them should be permitted to separate therefrom,
and become independent thereof, without the express
consent and approbation of such State." These resolu-
tions, together with a letter from Governor Clinton con-
cerning the Cumberland county disturbance, were taken
up in committee of the whole on June 1. After discus-
sion, resolutions were adopted "almost unanimously,"
most of the New England members supporting them,
that a committee be appointed to visit the New Hamp-
shire Grants, confer with the inhabitants, and learn the
reasons why the people of that district refused to
acknowledge the authority of New York. It was de-
clared that "as Congress are in duty bound on the one
hand to preserve inviolate the rights of the several
States; so on the other, they will always be careful to
provide that the justice due to the States does not inter-
fere with the justice which may be due to individuals."
These nicely balanced resolutions really committed Con-
gress to nothing definite, and there was no particular
reason for opposition from members who had been
friendly to Vermont. On the following day the com-
mittee was appointed consisting of Oliver Ellsworth and
Jesse Root of Connecticut, Timothy Edwards of Massa-
286 HISTORY OF VERMONT
chusetts, John Witherspoon of New Jersey and Samuel
Atlee of Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile Governor Clinton was protesting vigor-
ously against the fact that Congress had "passed over in
profound silence" his remonstrance against the arrest
and imprisonment of the New York officers in Cumber-
land county, and intimating that the Vermont leaders
had received encouragement from several members of
Congress. He wrote General Washington early in
June complaining because Congress had not adopted
measures which would have relieved New York "from
the cruel necessity" which seemed likely to compel the
State to oppose force with force. He requested that six
brass cannon belonging to the State be returned and in-
timated that the flour the Legislature had authorized
him to collect might be needed elsewhere, and that the
militia intended for the Continental forces might have
to be employed in supporting the authority of the State.
The Cumberland county officers arrested by Vermont
authority were released without a fine, after being
cautioned against further offences, as it was considered a
wise policy to be lenient in meting out punishment, the
power of the new commonwealth having been demon-
strated. Ethan Allen's expedition into Cumberland
county resulted in the arrest of several "gentlemen of
property and great respectability," who were partisans
of New York. They were confined in prison at West-
minster and an unsuccessful attempt was made by their
friends to raise the militia of New Hampshire to rescue
them. Although the prisoners, under the Vermont law,
might have been chastised with forty stripes save one,
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 287
they were dismissed after small fines had been imposed,
and the jurisdiction of a Vermont court had been
acknowledged. Ira Allen is authority for the statement
that "this lenient measure established the power and
la^Vs of Vermont in the hearts of the people, and made
such an impression on the minds of the late prisoners
that within two years they filled some of the first offices
of that State." Governor Chittenden also issued a gen-
eral pardon, comprehensive in its terms, designed to
cover ofifences committed in Cumberland county.
Only two members of the Congressional Committee,
Doctor Witherspoon and Colonel Atlee, visited Vermont.
That they were in Bennington on June 23 is indicated by
a letter written by them on that date to Samuel Minott,
leader of the New York party in Cumberland county, in
which it was requested that his followers voluntarily
raise their full proportion of men, when a call was
issued, either by the Continental officers or the new
State, until special directions were received from Gov-
ernor Clinton. Governor Chittenden, it was said, had
promised not to molest them until matters in dispute
were settled, quiet and order were maintained and the
requests of the Committee of Congress were honored.
Among the questions propounded to Governor Chitten-
den by the committee on June 24, was one asking if the
people would be willing to acknowledge the jurisdiction
of New York provided their landed property were
secured. He replied that they were in the fullest sense
as unwilling to be under the jurisdiction of New York
as they could imagine America would be to submit to the
power of Great Britain.
288 HISTORY OF VERMONT
The two members of the Congressional Committee
who visited Vermont presented a written report to Con-
gress on July 13, stating that they had been treated with
great courtesy and respect by the people whom they had
visited, and that they had been assured by all with whom
they had consulted that there was no intention of break-
ing the union of States or giving encouragement to the
common enemy. This was not considered an official re-
port, as a majority of the committee did not participate
in the investigation.
Shortly before the visit of Messrs. Witherspoon and
Atlee, the Governor and Council, having received infor-
mation concerning the attitude of Congress, which was
not altogether to their liking, authorized Ethan Allen
and Jonas Fay to proceed to Philadelphia. This visit
resulted in an address to Congress, presented July 2,
and the dissemination of information concerning the
Cumberland county episode. A second delegation was
sent to Philadelphia toward the end of July, consisting
of Jonas Fay and Paul Spooner, who secured copies of
all papers of importance relating to the Vermont con-
troversy, together with reports and resolutions bearing
on the general topic. Governor Chittenden addressed a
letter to Congress, dated August 5, protesting against
the attitude assumed by that body concerning the Cum-
berland county arrests without hearing both parties en-
gaged in the controversy. After pointing out the fact
that certain men in that county had taken advantage of
the dispute between Vermont and New York "to
screen themselves from service," he alluded to Governor
Clinton's threat to order out the militia, saying like
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 289
orders had been issued to the Vermont militia. To this
he added the following statement, which shows clearly
the determination of Vermonters never to submit to
New York: "Notwithstanding I am far from coun-
tenancing a measure so disagreeable in its nature, yet
the free born citizens of this State can never so far de-
grade the dignity of human nature, or relinquish any
part of the glorious spirit of patriotism, which has hith-
erto distinguished them in every conflict with the unre-
lenting and long continued tyranny of designing men,
as tamely to submit to his (Governor Clinton's) man-
dates, or even to be intimidated by a challenge from
him."
The New York committee in Cumberland county, in
a petition to Congress dated July 23, 1779, declared that
the subjects of New York upon the New Hampshire
Grants since the outbreak of the Revolution had "en-
dured the most complete anarchy possible," and "besides
had to contend with disorderly, headstrong men, who
endeavored to exercise an usurped authority over them."
It was conceded that grievances had been suffered under
the royal government of New York, but the claim was
made that the new government had redressed these
grievances as soon as they were pointed out. It was
asserted that if the independence of Vermont were
recognized, those who had maintained allegiance to New
York would be compelled to sell their property and re-
move to some other State; therefore the petitioners
prayed that the authority of New York might be upheld
by Congress.
290 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Early in September the New York delegates, under
the leadership of John Jay, laid before Congress cer-
tain instructions from the Legislature relative to the
Vermont controversy and endeavored to secure speedy
and favorable action. Congress adopted a series of
resolutions on September 24 which, after calling atten-
tion to the fact that animosities aroused over the dispute
in the New Hampshire Grants had "risen so high as to
endanger the internal peace of the United States,"
earnestly recommended that the States of New Hamp-
shire, Massachusetts and New York pass laws expressly
authorizing Congress to decide all differences or disputes
relative to jurisdiction in the district aforesaid, so that
that body might take up the matter of determining the
boundaries not later than February 1, 1780. It was
recommended that the three States mentioned should
suspend any attempts to execute their laws in the dis-
puted territory over those who did not accept such juris-
diction. It was also declared to be the opinion of Con-
gress that no unappropriated lands or estates in the dis-
trict which had been or might be forfeited or confiscated,
ought to be granted or sold until a final decision should
be rendered in the matter in dispute.
John Jay, in writing Governor Clinton in regard to
the resolutions adopted, informed him that Vermont was
made a party to the proceedings in order that "the can-
dor and moderation of Congress may be rescued from
aspersions and that the people, after having been fully
heard, may have nothing to say or complain of, in case
the decision of Congress be against them, of which I
have no doubt."
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 291
If Congress supposed that the people of the New
Hampshire Grants had struggled all these years to main-
tain their rights, and had succeeded in establishing and
maintaining a State Government, only to submit quietly
io the restrictions imposed by these recommendations,
then that body woefully misjudged the spirit of the Green
Mountain Boys. When the Vermont Legislature
assembled at Manchester on the second Thursday of
October, 1779, there was much doubt in the minds of
many members concerning the wisest course of action
for Vermont to follow, but there was no idea of yielding
to New York. Ira Allen, in writing of this period, said :
"The influence of Congress at that time was great, being
considered as the pillar of liberty, and their advice was
deemed a law. The friends of New York exulted, and
doubled their exertions against Vermont. When the
Assembly convened nine-tenths were for suspending the
sale of confiscated property, and the granting of lands
till after the first of February, the time assigned by Con-
gress to examine into the disputes and dififerences; but
a few saw the design of the New York junto was to cut
off the resources and to prevent migrations of persons
from other States ; who became internal friends. They
saw also if they submitted to one decree of Congress
against the interest of Vermont, the same influence of
the junto would prevail in Congress to annihilate the
existence of Vermont as a State. Moreover, they knew
themselves not to be under the control of Congress, hav-
ing no representative in that body; and, finally, by the
union of States Congress was not authorized to in-
terfere with the internal police of any State in the Union.
292 HISTORY OF VERMONT
How, then, could they interfere with Vermont, which
was out of the Union?
A committee of four, headed by Ethan Allen, was
chosen by the Assembly to join a similar committee
selected by the Council to outline a plan to be pursued
relative to the action taken by Congress. On October
20 the Assembly and Council met in joint session, sit-
ting as a committee of the whole, to discuss the situation ;
and on the following day it was resolved unanimously,
"That it is the opinion of this committee that this State
ought to support their right to independence, at Con-
gress, and to the world, in the character of a free and
independent State." This report was agreed to with-
out opposition. It was also decided "to make grants of
all or any part of the unappropriated lands" within the
jurisdiction of the State that did not interfere with
grants already made.
On the same day Ethan Allen was selected as an agent
to visit the Legislature of Massachusetts, and Ira Allen
was chosen in a similar capacity to present Vermont's
side of the controversy to the States of New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. A resolution
was adopted providing that five persons should be
chosen by ballot to appear before Congress, February
1, 1780, as representatives of Vermont, and they were
authorized to vindicate the right of the State to inde-
pendence. These agents, or any three of them, were
empowered to settle articles of union and confederation
with the United States. The agents chosen were Ethan
Allen, Jonas Fay, Paul Spooner, Stephen R. Bradley and
Moses Robinson. When Ira Allen was chosen as agent
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 298
to visit the four States mentioned he was instructed to
furnish the AssembUes of these commonwealths with
copies of Ethan AUen's "Vindication." This document,
pointed by Alden Spooner in 1779, was entitled "A Vin-
dication of the Opposition of the Inhabitants of Ver-
mont to the Government of New York, and of Their
Right to Form an Independent State." By order of the
Governor and Council the "Vindication" was published,
and directions were given that copies should be sent to
Congress and to the General Assembly of each State and
to the principal officers of the Continental Army. The
document is a lengthy one, going into details concerning
the long standing dispute with New York, and quoting
at length from many sources already considered in this
History. It is an able and forceful argument in behalf
of Vermont's position, and should be studied by all who
desire thoroughly to investigate the merits of the con-
troversy between New York and Vermont.
In his pamphlet General Allen agreed that the temper
and manners of the people of Vermont and New York
were so different that they could not form parts of a
harmonious State, saying: "A people so opposite to
each other in civil, political, and we may add, religious
sentiments can never subsist long under the same gov-
ernment." He asserted that since the time when the
people of Vermont took possession of the Lake Cham-
plain posts in May, 1775, they had considered them-
selves as "being virtually in union with the United
States," adding "from which early period of the Revo-
lution they have taken an active part with them, and
have pursued invariably the same object, viz. liberty;
294 HISTORY OF VERMONT
have participated in all their troubles; and with them
have hazarded all that is worth living or dying for.
Such a combination of interests and mutual coopera-
tion, in securing and defending the same, constitutes the
very nature and essence of union and confederation, nor
can there be more than a mere formal declaration requi-
site to fully establish a confederation between them."
Of this document John Jay wrote to Governeur Morris,
"There is a quaintness, impudence and art in it."
In May, 1779, a young Connecticut lawyer named
Stephen Row Bradley, who had risen to the rank of
Major in the American Army, was admitted to the bar
of the Superior Court of Vermont. Before the year
had ended he had written "Vermont's Appeal to the
Candid and Impartial World," one of the notable docu-
ments upon which Vermont rested her claim in the long
controversy which ended with her admission as a State
of the American Union. By order of the Governor and
Council, dated at Arlington, December 10, 1779, this
appeal was formally approved, and it was directed that
it should be "published to the world." It bears the im-
print of Hudson and Goodwin of Hartford, Conn.
Alluding to the fact that it was upwards of forty years
since the boundaries of Massachusetts and New Hamp-
shire were fully settled, he declared that their claims at
this time were "unaccountable upon any other principle
unless they think by putting in so many frightful claims
they scare us to surrender to some one, rather than to
run our chance of being devoured by the whole."
Taking up the dispute with New York, some of the
more familiar phases were reviewed. Mr. Bradley de-
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 295
clared that New York had no shadow of claim to the
territory embraced in the State of Vermont prior to the
order of the King in Council, in 1764. Concerning this
order he said: "Now, as we had before purchased this
territory, and given a valuable consideration to the Gov-
ernor of New Hampshire, who was authorized by the
King of Great Britain to sell it, and acted as an agent
under him when he gave grants of this very territory
'twas the same, and as binding on His Majesty in the
eye of all law and reason, as if the King had sold it him-
self. If then the King had once sold this territory, and
taken a valuable consideration, had he any right the
second time to convey it away? and if he could the second
time, might he not as well twenty or a hundred, and so
on ad infinituin? and consequently there could be no
security from a King." He argued, therefore, that the
King had no right to convey this land already granted
by a royal Governor, and that the historic order of 1764
was null and void, so far as it applied to conveying
land. He further argued that the King "had in the
nature of things as good a right on the 20th of July,
1764, to have subjected the Angels of God to the govern-
ment of New York as he had the people of Vermont.
For if he could abridge twenty thousand he could one
hundred thousand and equally three millions of their
liberties. And if Vermont had not a right to resist
that act of oppression, America had no right to resist,
but ought to submit to all the usurpations of the British
crown."
After summarizing the unfair means employed by
New York to deprive Vermont of her rights, he charged
296 HISTORY OF VERMONT
the former State with bringing the controversy between
the two commonwealths before Congress for decision
"at a period of time when they think their State from
many circumstances is become the great key of the Con-
tinent and to affront them must be very detrimental to
the Confederacy." Then he added the significant
words, "But let New York remember that we have a
northern key as well as a southern key, and are deter-
mined to maintain and support our independence and
freedom," a threat of the possibility of negotiations with
the British in Canada, used later very effectively.
Mr. Bradley argued that Vermont had merited her
right to independence, by brave and noble conduct during
the war. The Green Mountain Boys were the first
troops in America to begin an offensive war against
Great Britain in the capture of Ticonderoga. He
recalled the aid given in the invasion of Canada, the
blow dealt Burgoyne's army at Bennington, and asserted
that not one of the States at war with Great Britain,
according to their numbers, had done more than Ver-
mont for the common good.
Following another line of argument, the writer
asserted that it was not for the interests of the Nation
that there should be "some great, overgrown, unwieldy
States," saying that New York already was large enough
and adding that it was "very probable that if New York
should obtain this territory, and the Green Mountain
Boys submit to their aristocratical form of government,
she would in time by the same spirit, overrun and ruin
many of the United States." Apparently this argument
was effective, as in 1782, New Jersey, Delaware and
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 297
Rhode Island favored Vermont in Congress, according
to Mr. Madison, with a view "of strengthening the in-
terests of the little States." A direct appeal was made
to Congress, and a solemn protest was registered against
a plan "incompatible with the fundamental principles of
liberty" and "big with injustice and impiety." It was
declared that Vermont could not agree to the terms of
the resolutions of Congress because they were asked to
give up things too sacred ever to be arbitrated; because
Congress had no right to meddle with the internal police
of a State or abolish its internal institutions; because
Vermont existed independent of and not accountable to
any of the thirteen United States; and because Vermont
was not represented in Congress. The appeal declares :
"We have carefully weighed the matter and can see no
material difference in being dragged to Philadelphia or
Great Britain, and there, untried and unheard, obliged
to deliver ourselves up as victims to court pleasure."
Congress was assured that Vermont was and ever
had been willing to bear her proportion of the burden
and expense of the war from its beginning whenever
admission was granted to the Union of States. "At the
same time," the appeal declared, "we cannot be so lost to
all sense and honor, or do that violence to our feelings
as freemen and as Americans, that after four years'
war with Great Britain, in which we have expended so
much blood and treasure, we should now give up every-
thing worth fighting for; the right of making our own
laws and choosing our own form of government to the
arbitrament and determination of any man or body of
men under heaven."
298 HISTORY OF VERMONT
The closing portion of this valuable document is a
stirring appeal to the people of the United States. The
appeal is made upon the strength of the ties of friend-
ship, "as men who have equally suffered together from
the iron rod of tyranny," and "have gone hand in hand
and stood by each other in times when threatened with
ruin, tyranny and death." The writer declares: "We
can never believe that the present inhabitants of the
United States are so lost to all feelings of humanity,
benevolence and religion, that while they extend their
right hands to heaven, and weary unbounded grace in
praying to be delivered from British tyranny and oppres-
sion, they should with their left hands be forming
shackles of slavery for their American brethren." The
other States are warned that those who have ''tasted the
sweet of living upon the labor and sweat of tenants, like
the voracious wolf will never leave till they have de-
voured the whole flock of American yeomanry."
Reference is made to the "black acts of outlawry and
death" passed by the New York Legislature and to the
necessity either of declaring the independence of Ver-
mont or submitting to ruin, slavery and death. During
nearly four years as an independent State Vermonters
had fought Britons, Canadians, Hessians, Waldeckers,
Dutchmen, Indians and Tories, and now they were not
prepared to give up what they had fought to obtain. It
was not believed that the people of the United States
would submit their freedom and independence to the
arbitrament of any court or referees under heaven, and
if they would they were unworthy of the name of Amer-
icans.
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 299
In closing the writer says: "VVe conjure you by that
friendship which has so long subsisted between us, by
the blood and sufferings we have exhibited in your cause,
by your own honor and liberties which are at stake, to
rise and crush that spirit of oppression now exercised in
seeking our destruction."
The last feature of the document is a brief address
to the "Commonalty" of New Hampshire, Massa-
chusetts and New York, which declares: *'Force is
seldom employed with success to change the opinion or
convince the minds of freemen. But admitting that you
should conquer us, and affix us to any of our govern-
ments, will that enrich you? Certainly not. Will it
make us better neighbors? It cannot. Will our de-
struction secure your liberties? By no means. What,
then, will you obtain finally for all your trouble and
expense, not to say bloodshed? Nothing but a con-
quered, depopulated territory, where every single in-
habitant will be so embittered against you that you will
be necessitated to keep a standing army perpetually to
keep them in subjection and support government."
The powerful appeals and cogent arguments of Ethan
Allen and Stephen R. Bradley undoubtedly did much to
establish public opinion in favor of V^ermont.
In accordance with the instructions of the General
Assembly, Ira Allen visited the Legislatures of New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland, dis-
tributing pamphlets and answering questions in regard
to the Vermont land controversy. At this time one of
the questions before Congress was the disposition to be
made of the unappropriated land in the region then
300 HISTORY OF VERMONT
known as the West; and of the confiscated property of
LoyaUsts. The four States visited by Colonel Allen
were of the opinion that all such property taken from the
enemy ought to be used for defraying the expenses of
the war, rather than for the benefit of any State. Penn-
sylvania was the only one of the States which mentioned
laying claim to Western lands of consequence and as
Vermont held no title to such lands, Allen was able to
assure these States that Vermont would act with them
if given representation in Congress. This promise
apparently strengthened the cause of the Green Moun-
tain State. Allen submitted to the Council of Pennsyl-
vania a statement regarding Vermont's position which
was read on January 25, 1780.
Although February 1, 1780, was the day assigned by
Congress for considering the claims of New York, New
Hampshire and Massachusetts to the region known as
Vermont, there is no record of any action taken on the
subject on that day. The Vermont agents in attend-
ance, Jonas Fay, Moses Robinson and Stephen R. Brad-
ley, delivered a letter to President Samuel Huntington
of that body, protesting against a decision made on
ex parte evidence. The letter intimated that if given
time the agents might prove that Great Britain had
made a distinct government of the tract included in the
State of Vermont and appointed Col. Philip Skene as
its Governor. This statement is rather cautiously
worded, as the agents were probably aware that the
negotiations for the establishment of such a colony were
stopped by the outbreak of the war. The agents fur-
ther expressed their readiness to negotiate for a union
Conaft is oi'tlie Uiii t cd Sraics :
((!-. i-srt ..f Virrirtsrl
Facsimile of the Act admitting Vermont as a State of the
Union, and signed bv President George Washington
THE I^EW y,:^K
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 301
with the States represented in Congress, and to bear a
just proportion of war expenses.
On the same day, February 1, a statement was signed
by Peter Olcott and Bezaleel Woodward, representing
certain towns on both sides of the Connecticut River,
which asserted that the fixing of the Connecticut River
as a boundary would be very inconvenient for the people
of that valley. It was urged that the whole of Vermont
should be annexed to New Hampshire, or that if a new
State were formed it should extend to the highlands on
either side of the Connecticut River. This document
was presented to Congress on February 7. On Feb-
ruary 5 the Vermont agents, on the eve of departing for
home, notified Congress that they must leave to attend
a session of the General Assembly, and expressed a
willingness to acquiesce in any requisition made by Con-
gress not incompatible with their own internal policy.
Mr. Folsom, a New Hampshire delegate in Congress,
writing to Josiah Bartlett of that State on April 17,
1780, said : "As to Vermont there were several attempts
to bring the matter before Congress but without the
least appearance of success. I have no expectation of
any settlement till after the war is over, if I can believe
the present members."
Congress resumed the consideration of the Vermont
matter on June 2, 1780. After declaring that authentic
evidence had been presented showing "that the people
inhabiting the district of country commonly known by
the name of the New Hampshire Grants, and claiming
to be an independent State," had made grants of land
and sales of confiscated estates, and had exercised civil
302 HISTORY OF VERMONT
and military authority over persons in the said district
claiming to be citizens and owing allegiance to the State
of New York, contrary to the recommendations of Con-
gress, it was resolved that such acts and proceedings
were "highly unwarrantable and subversive of the
peace and welfare of the United States." It was fur-
ther resolved that as soon as nine States exclusive of
New Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York, directly
interested, should be represented. Congress would "pro-
ceed to hear, examine into and finally determine" the dis-
pute concerning the jurisdiction claimed by the three
States over Vermont. One week later, on June 9, nine
States exclusive of those directly interested, being rep-
resented, Mr. Livingston of New York moved to take up
the matter of jurisdiction relating to the New Hamp-
shire Grants. Immediate consideration was opposed
because New Hampshire's special agent was not present
and could not be summoned quickly. On motion of Mr.
Walton of Georgia, the second Tuesday of September
was assigned for a hearing.
About this time a petition was presented to Congress,
signed by Joseph Marsh, Peter Olcott and Bezaleel
Woodward, a committee representing certain inhabit-
ants on both sides of the Connecticut River, residing in
the northern portion of the valley, asking for a speedy
decision in regard to the jurisdiction of the New Hamp-
shire Grants. It was declared to be the ardent wish of
the petitioners that there might be a union "of the two
sides of the river" ; but if a new State were not admitted,
annexation to New Hampshire was favored.
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 303
Replying to the resolutions adopted by Congress,
June 9, 1780, Governor Chittenden, in a letter to Presi-
dent Samuel Huntington, dated at Bennington, July 25,
informed him that the people of Vermont considered
these resolutions as "subversive to the natural rights
which they have to liberty and independence, as well as
incompatible with the principles on which Congress
governed their own right to independence." Very
clearly Governor Chittenden declared that the act fixing
a date for determining the matter of jurisdiction
amounted to a denial of Vermont's right to existence as
a free and independent State; which decision, if accepted,
determined the most essential feature of the controversy,
"If Vermont does not belong to some one of the inter-
ested States," argued Governor Chittenden, "Congress
could have no such power, without their consent;
* * '*' for it is utterly incompatible with the rights
and prerogatives of an independent State to be under the
control or arbitrament of any other power."
Referring to the proposal to divide the territory of
Vermont between New Hampshire and New York, he
compared it to the division of Poland by Prussia, Hun-
gary and Russia. He reminded Congress of the service
Vermont had rendered in guarding the frontiers, a serv-
ice appreciated by many residents of the States seeking
Vermont's destruction. Having the approbation of dis-
interested States he considered Vermont "in a condition
to maintain government." He warned Congress that
if Vermonters had been deceived in this matter they were
"at liberty to offer or accept terms of cessation of hostili-
ties with Great Britain, without the approbation of any
304 HISTORY OF VERMONT
other man or body of men." If Congress refused to
recognize the independence of Vermont, but rather the
usurped authority of another power, then Vermont had
not ''the most distant motive to continue hostilities with
Great Britain and maintain an important frontier for
the benefit of the United States and for no other reward
than the ungrateful one of being enslaved by them."
Notwithstanding the injustice with which Vermont
had been treated, the State once more offered to enter
into a union with the United States. If this ofifer
should be declined, then the same proposition would be
made separately to the various State Legislatures, and
Vermont would take such other measures as self preser-
vation might justify. The position of Vermont in this
crisis was summed up by Governor Chittenden in the
following words : "Unjustly treated as the people over
whom I preside, on the most serious and candid delibera-
tion conceive themselves to be in this afifair, yet, blessed
by heaven with constancy of mind and connexions
abroad, as an honest, valiant and brave people are neces-
sitated to declare to Your Excellency, to Congress and
the world, that as life, liberty and the rights of the people
intrusted them by God are inseparable, so they do not
expect to be justified in the eye of heaven, or that pos-
terity would call them blessed if they should tamely sur-
render any part."
Governor Chittenden's letter was presented to Con-
gress by Ira Allen and Stephen R. Bradley, together
with their credentials, and a copy of Bradley's Appeal,
and these documents were read on September 12. On
the same day a letter from Bezaleel Woodward was read
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 305
in Congress, containing the information that Colonel
Olcott again had been appointed agent in behalf of the
people on both sides of the Connecticut River "from
Charleston (Charlestown) upward," arguing for a
union with New Hampshire. The writer challenged
the statement that the people of New Hampshire Grants
would claim the protection of Canada if the proposition
of a new State were rejected, saying that there were very
few who would not readily acquiesce in a decision of the
dispute by Congress — "none of any consequence on this
side of the Green Mountains and few on the other, how-
ever some of their leaders may desire to raise a tumult
in opposition to them."
Allen and Bradley on September 15 asked the Presi-
dent of Congress to request that body to allow the Ver-
mont delegates to attend sessions in which debates arose
in any way affecting "the rights, sovereignty or inde-
pendence of the State of Vermont."
On September 19, Congress notified Messrs. Allen
and Bradley, Colonel Olcott and Luke Knowlton, the last
named individual being the agent for the New York
party in Cumberland county, to attend a hearing to be
held that afternoon. The agents of Vermont, although
admitted, were not treated as representatives having any
standing before that body. Parts of two days were
spent in the presentation of the claims of New York.
The Vermont agents took notes of the proceedings, but
declined to attend when New Hampshire's claim was
presented. Both States maintained that Vermont had
no right to independence and advanced their respective
claims to jurisdiction over its territory. After hearing
306 HISTORY OF VERMONT
the claim of New Hampshire, Congress voted to post-
pone further consideration of the subject. Five days
later Messrs. Allen and Bradley informed Congress that
the time of their appointment had expired and that they
were leaving for home. They expressed the willingness
of Vermont to aid in establishing the sovereignty of
America. Regarding the dispute concerning the terri-
tory of the Green Mountain State, they urged the impor-
tance of hearing all parties interested before deciding
the matter, offered to furnish authentic papers showing
Vermont's right to separate State government, and pro-
tested against a decision while America was engaged in
war.
While Congress was not ready to recognize Vermont
as a State, it was quite willing to postpone a decision
in such a troublesome controversy.
Gouverneur Morris of New York kept notes of one of
the Congressional debates on the Vermont matter. It
appears that most of the New England members "for
wise political reasons" favored the independence of Ver-
mont, but did not want to make open avowal of such a
position. Roger Sherman of Connecticut, "who was
thought secretly to encourage the Vermont party,"
argued that Congress had no right to decide the contro-
versy, and could act only as mediators, in a hearing in
which Vermont should be a party. In his opinion the
people of Vermont never were subject to New York by
their own consent. Elbridge Gerry denied the power
of Congress to interfere, regarded the inhabitants of
Vermont as "extra provincial," and possessing the right
to set up a government for themselves. He thought an
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 307
arbitrary decision by Congress would increase thee diffi-
culty. Some of the Southern members agreed with
New England members, and it appears, according to his
biographer, Jared Sparks, that the view of Mr. Morris
did not differ widely from those expressed.
John Jay, having been in a manner specially charged
by the New York Legislature with the conduct of its case
in Congress relative to the Vermont controversy, re-
ported to Governor Clinton as early as September 25,
1779, that he found soon after his arrival at Philadel-
phia that certain objections to interfering with Vermont
were generally prevalent; that Congress had no author-
ity to deal with State quarrels ; that such business should
be postponed until all States had acceded to the Confed-
eration; that the attention of Congress ought not to be
diverted from war; that harsh measures might induce
Vermont to join the enemy ; that Vermonters "possessed
a strong country, were warlike and determined, and that
more force would be required to reduce them than could
be spared from the general defence."
He had cause to suspect that there were other
reasons — That certain persons of consequence in Con-
gress and New England expected to advance their for-
tunes by securing lands in Vermont ; that Vermont was
growing stronger as time passed, would actually become
independent, and later would be recognized as a State;
that a fifth New England State would be a valuable acces-
sion to that region; that as ancient animosities between
New York and New England, inclined the former to
side with the Middle and Southern States, the loss of
308 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Vermont to New York was not likely to be opposed by-
New England.
Mr. Jay found it impolitic to force through Congress
a resolution antagonistic to Vermont, by a narrow
majority of Southern members against the violent oppo-
sition of New England. It was expedient in his
opinion, in a Congressional investigation, to consider the
claims of Massachusetts and New Hampshire as well as
those of New York, and to make Vermont a party.
Governor Chittenden having notified the General
Assembly of the action by the Continental Congress rela-
tive to Vermont, a resolution was adopted authorizing
the Governor and the Council to appoint proper persons
to negotiate with the several States concerning "a de-
fence of the frontiers and any other matters that shall
be necessary." The broad scope of this resolution per-
mitted negotiations wath the various States in the Con-
federation concerning closer relations with Vermont.
Governor Chittenden, on September 22, 1780, in a
letter to Governor Clinton of New York, demanded of
the Legislature that it fully relinquish its claim to juris-
diction over Vermont, and proposed that the two States
''join in a solid union" for mutual defence against the
British forces, particularly those which threatened in-
cursions on the frontiers from Quebec. Ira Allen was
the bearer of this demand also. Governor Clinton re-
ferred this letter, which he termed "insolent in its nature
and derogatory to the honor of the State," to both
branches of the General Assembly.
The Senate committee to which the letter was re-
ferred, having heard Robert R. Livingston, who had
A STRUGGLE FOR EXISTENCE 309
been a special delegate to Congress when that body con-
sidered matters concerning the New Hampshire Grants,
reported resolutions declaring that it was inexpedient
for New York to insist further on its right to jurisdic-
tion over Vermont, and providing for commissioners to
meet a similar delegation from Vermont and settle the
terms under which jurisdictional claims should be aban-
doned. This resolution was adopted in the Senate, Feb-
ruary 21, 1781, with only one dissenting vote. The
House having voted to take up the Senate resolution.
Governor Clinton's private secretary appeared vv^ith
a message declaring that if that body should agree to
carry into effect the Senate's action concerning the New
Hampshire Grants, he would exercise the authority
vested in him by the Constitution and prorogue the
Assembly. This hint was sufficient and the resolution
was not adopted.
Only this drastic measure of executive authority, it is
believed, prevented a settlement of the Vermont contro-
versy a decade earlier than subsequent events permitted.
The time for a settlement was opportune. The New
York frontier had been ravaged recently by a British in-
vasion, and another attack was feared the coming spring.
The people of New York were not encouraged to believe
that Vermont ever could be regained when Congress
delayed taking any definite action on the question of
jurisdiction. General Schuyler also favored such a set-
tlement, as did most of the people of Albany, Schenec-
tady and the northern portion of the State.
In a letter written by Governor Clinton about this
time, he admitted that "these turbulent people," alluding
310 HISTORY OF VERMONT
to the Vermonters, "daily gain strength at our expense,"
and he expressed the fear, that the dissensions which
the Vermont dispute excited among New Yorkers would
have an unhappy effect upon the public councils. More-
over, this letter indicates an expectation that sooner or
later Vermont would become a State.
A period of about ten years had elapsed since a little
band of Vermont farmers assembled on the Breaken-
ridge farm at Bennington, and made open resistance to
the New York authority which threatened to evict them
from their homes. Another decade was to intervene
before Statehood could be won, but the machinery of a
State government was in operation, and the new Com-
monwealth was gaining steadily in numbers and in
influence.
Chapter XXIV
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS
DURING the summer of 1778, about four weeks
after Ethan Allen returned to Vermont from his
long captivity, a new Governor General arrived
in Canada in the person of Gen. Frederick Haldimand, a
man whose name is associated with an important chapter
of early Vermont history.
Haldimand was born on August 11, 1718, in the Swiss
canton of Neuchatel. As a boy he entered the service
of the King of Sardinia. Later he served, successively,
in the armies of Frederick the Great in Prussia and
William, Prince of Orange in Holland. In 1756, at the
request of Sir Joseph Yorke, British Minister at The
Hague, he came to New York, to become an officer in, a
regiment recruited from Swiss and German colonists in
Pennsylvania and Maryland. Having been transferred
to another regiment, he was sent to General Aber-
crombie's army, and participated in the unsuccessful
attack upon General Montcalm's French troops at Ticon-
deroga. He was also with the British army at the cap-
ture of Montreal. For six years he was stationed in
Florida, returning in 1773 to New York as a Major
General, when Gage v/ent to England on leave of
absence. It was during this period that General Haldi-
mand obtained his first knowledge of the controversy
between New York and the New Hampshire Grants.
He is said to have refused Governor Tryon's request
to send regular troops to suppress the Green Mountain
Boys. He returned to England in 1775, where he re-
mained until he was ordered to Canada.
The surrender of Burgoyne in 1777 and the forma-
tion of an alliance between France and the United
314 HISTORY OF VERMONT
States early in the year 1778, convinced the British
government of the necessity of a change in the American
poHcy. Commissioners were appointed with the power
"to offer to the colonies at large or separately, a general
or separate peace."
The British authorities in Canada were not ignorant
at this time of conditions in the new State of Vermont.
Their ships controlled the waters of Lake Champlain,
and frequent scouting parties and communications from
Tories furnished information of internal affairs.
Vermont at this time literally was surrounded by
enemies. New York, as has been shown in preceding
chapters, was bitterly hostile and desirous of compelling
submission to her authority. New Hampshire and
Massachusetts laid claim to portions of the Green Moun-
tain State. Canada contained a British army, large for
that period, which greatly outnumbered any force Ver-
mont could put in the field. The Continental Congress
alternated between indifference and hostility in its atti-
tude toward Vermont's claims for admission to the
Union of States.
Ira Allen has written of this period — and no man was
better informed — that "Vermont was in a forlorn situa-
tion, torn by intestine divisions and the intrigues of her
enemies in Congress; all the cannon, nay, every spade
and pickaxe taken by her valiant sons at Ticonderoga
and Crown Point, were removed out of the State to Fort
George, together with Colonel Warner's regiment,
raised in and for the protection of Vermont, but put
into Continental service, were thus stationed to defend
the frontiers of New York, not half so much exposed
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 315
as Vermont, and to add to the distress, New York re-
called, at the same time, all her State troops from
Skenesborough."
These conditions having been reported to the King's
ministers, Lord George Germaine on March 3, 1779,
directed Sir Henry Clinton, in chief command of the
British forces in America, to open negotiations with
Vermont. To General Haldimand he wrote: "The
drawing over the inhabitants of the country they call
Vermont to the British Crown appears a matter of such
vast importance for the safety of Canada, and as afford-
ing a means of annoying the northern revolted provinces
that I think it right to repeat to you the King's wishes
that you may be able to effect it, though it should be
attended with considerable expense."
Haldimand replied on September 13, 1779, that he
would do what he could "to reclaim the Vermont
people," adding the opinion that "they are a profligate
banditti." Lord George Germaine again wrote to Gen-
eral Haldimand, on March 17, 1780, urging "the vast
importance of drawing over Vermont."
In compliance with these instructions from the British
Secretary of State for Colonial Affairs, and presumably
acting in accordance with directions from Sir Henry
Clinton, on March 30, 1780, Col. Beverly Robinson ad-
dressed a letter to Ethan Allen. At the beginning of
the war Robinson sympathized with the Americans, but
later, when the British took possession of New York,
perhaps to save his property, he accepted a commission
as Colonel of a Loyalist regiment, and was the agent
who succeeded in corrupting Benedict Arnold. In his
316 HISTORY OF VERMONT
letter Robinson stated that he had been informed that
Allen and most of the inhabitants of Vermont were
opposed "to the wild and chimerical scheme of the
Americans in attempting to separate the Continent from
Great Britain, and to establish an independent State of
their own; and that you would willingly assist in unit-
ing America again to Great Britain." He promised to
communicate to General Clinton any communication that
Allen might wish to make and intimated that coopera-
tion with the British might mean a separate government
for Vermont. If the proposals were not accepted the
matter might rest in oblivion.
This letter was delivered to Allen in the street at
Arlington, in July, by a British soldier disguised as an
American farmer. Having read it, the Vermont leader
told the bearer that he would consider the communica-
tion, and that he might return. The contents of the
letter were made known at once to Governor Chittenden
and to a few other Vermont men of influence. After
consultation it was agreed that the Governor should ad-
dress a letter to General Haldimand regarding an
exchange of prisoners. Various communications were
addressed to Gen. Ethan Allen by the Canadian authori-
ties, some of which, apparently, have not been preserved.
In the Haldimand correspondence, printed by the Cana-
dian authorities, it is interesting to note the fluctuation
of opinion concerning the sincerity of the Vermont lead-
ers, confidence alternating with suspicion and distrust.
As early as August 13, 1780, Haldimand wrote to
Clinton: "No dependence can be placed on the word of
Allen or of those associated with him in Vermont, who
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 317
cannot be bound by laws or ties. If Allen could arm
4,000 men, it would not be safe to trust him in this
province, for, under pretence of joining the King's
troops he may watch an opportunity to seize the prov-
ince." Another Clinton (George), then Governor of
New York, doubtless would have agreed to this charac-
terization of Allen. Haldimand added that there was
a report in circulation to the effect that Allen was rais-
ing a force to defend his State against both King and
Congress, and closed with the significant assertion that
he (Haldimand) never had received any overtures from
Allen. A letter from Major Carleton, stationed at
Crown Point, dated October 17, 1780, addressed to an
officer named Powell, declared that dispatches for-
warded for General Allen had to be destroyed, as the
messenger was pursued. The accounts of the early
stages of these negotiations are rather meagre, but from
British documents it appears that on October 31, 1780,
Major Clark, Brigade Major to Ethan Allen (probably
Nathan Clark), arrived with a flag of truce and a letter.
Clark reported, it is said, that the people of Vermont
were exasperated against New York and tired of con-
stant alarms. A message was sent to Allen announcing
that a cessation of arms would be observed, and his con-
dition that the truce should apply to northern New York
was accepted. On November 9 of the same year Haldi-
mand warned Major Carleton of the necessity of caution
"in view of the sad fate of Major Andre." Although
he could not officially enter into a truce, hostilities would
be avoided as much as possible. About this time Gov-
ernor Chittenden informed General Haldimand that he
318 HISTORY OF VERMONT
had laid the letters relating to a cartel for the exchange
of prisoners before the Legislature, and that Ira Allen
and Major (Joseph) Fay had been designated to act for
Vermont. Justus Sherwood and George Smith were
appointed to act as British agents. Ira Allen relates
that following this agreement the Vermont militia were
disbanded and the British troops retired to winter quar-
ters in Canada, much to the surprise of the New York
militia. It was agreed that the commissioners named,
representing both parties, should go to Canada together,
but the early formation of ice in Lake Champlain made
navigation difficult, and after "much political conversa-
tion and exhibits of papers," Allen and Fay returned
home.
Governor Chittenden notified General Haldimand on
January 1, 1781, that he had appointed Jonas Fay and
Maj. Isaac Clark commissioners, and that they would
proceed on a similar business as soon as the road was
safe. Later in the winter Jonas Fay started for Can-
ada but was unable to proceed far on account of the
unsafe condition of the ice.
General Haldimand issued instructions on December
20, 1780, to the commissioners appointed to negotiate
with Vermont, in which he declared that he had always
regretted the unjust measures taken by the government
of New York in the land controversy with the New
Hampshire Grants, and authorized them to give most
positive assurance that Vermont would be erected into a
separate province. He proposed the raising of two bat-
talions of ten companies each, of which Messrs. Allen
and Chittenden, or any others selected Iw the Governor
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 319
and Council, should be Lieutenant Colonels. He agreed
that if Congress should admit Vermont to the Union,
the negotiations should cease and any steps that led to
them should be forgotten. It is probable that these
propositions were not communicated to the representa-
tives of Vermont until early in May.
Beverly Robinson sent another letter to Ethan Allen,
at Arlington, on February 2, 1781, proposing the coop-
eration of Vermont in the restoration of peace. He
made no reply to this communication, but transmitted
both of Robinson's letters to Samuel Huntington, Presi-
dent of the Continental Congress, together with a state-
ment in which he declared that these were the only letters
he had received from Robinson, that he had returned no
answer to them, and that he had never had the slightest
personal acquaintance with the author. Allen was very
frank in this letter, referring to the claim of Congress
to an exclusive right to arbitrate on the existence of
Vermont as a separate government, and to its influence
exerted to create schisms among its citizens. He alluded
to the hostility of neighboring States, which had laid
claim to part or all of Vermont's territory and had
expected that it would be devastated by a foreign enemy,
a condition of affairs which might lead to the further-
ance of "their exorbitant claims and avaricious designs."
Very boldly did Allen declare Vermont's position, say-
ing: "I am confident that Congress will not dispute
my sincere attachment to the cause of my country,
though I do not hesitate to say I am fully grounded in
opinion that Vermont has an indubitable right to agree
on terms of cessation of hostilities with Great Britain.
320 HISTORY OF VERMONT
provided the United States persist in rejecting her appH-
cation for a union with them : for Vermont, of all people,
would be the most miserable, were she obliged to defend
the independence of the United Claiming States, and
they at the same time at full liberty to overturn and ruin
the independence of Vermont. I am persuaded when
Congress considers the circumstances of this State, they
will be the more surprised that I have transmitted them
the enclosed letters than that I have kept them in cus-
tody so long, for I am as resolutely determined to defend
the independence of Vermont as Congress is that of the
United States, and rather than fail, will retire with (the)
hardy Green Mountain Boys into the desolate caverns
of the mountains, and wage war with human nature at
large."
The voluminous Haldimand Papers contain docu-
ments showing how earnestly the English authorities
hoped that Vermont might be reconciled to the Crown.
Lord George Germaine, on April 12, 1781, wrote Gen-
eral Haldimand that advices from New York indicated
that Ethan Allen and the people of Vermont were taking
judicious measures for a declaration in favor of Britain
"when the time comes to send in troops." He also
hoped that "numerous friends at Albany" would join
and that the whole district would return to obedience.
Again, on May 4, Germaine wrote a letter to Haldi-
mand, which discloses in part, at least, what the British
hoped to accomplish by winning over the Green Moun-
tain State. Haldimand was instructed "to cooperate
with Clinton and to use every means to bring in Ver-
mont, cut off communication between Albany and the
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 321
Mohawk and prevent Washington (from) receiving
supplies by the Hudson.
Haldimand communicated to Germaine on April 30,
1781, a suspicion "that Ethan Allen is endeavoring to
deceive both the Congress and us."
The first formal meeting between representatives of
Vermont and Great Britain was held at Isle aux Noix
in the Richelieu River, just over the Canadian boundary
line. The Vermont party consisted of Col. Ira Allen,
Lieut, Simeon Lyman, two Sergeants and sixteen pri-
vates. According to British records Major (Isaac)
Clark was chosen to accompany Colonel Allen but was
detained by family matters.
The Vermont party arrived on or before May 7, the
members being received courteously by Major Dundas,
the commandant of the post. The first business was to
settle a cartel for the exchange of prisoners and after a
mutual presentation of credentials, Allen conferred with
the British commissioners. Major Dundas, Captain
Sherwood and George Smythe. On the following morn-
ing Allen and Sherwood went for a walk and the latter
asserted that Dundas had knowledge of no business
save the exchange of prisoners. This assertion, how-
ever, is hardly borne out by the British correspondence.
Allen declared on May 8 that he had not been author-
ized to treat concerning a union, but had been instructed
by Governor Chittenden and General Allen to inform
General Haldimand "that matters are not yet ripe for
any permanent proposals," the people not being ready
for such a change.
322 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Allen walked and talked with Captain Sherwood on
May 10, but, according to British records, the Vermont
commissioner was 'Very cautious and intricate" in his
conversation. He objected to a form of government
that would not permit the people to chose their own
Governor, and if they could not get a free charter
"they would return to the mountains, turn savages, and
fight the devil, hell and human nature at large." He
intimated that when the Vermonters were ripe for pro-
posals they could go no farther than neutrality during
the war. The next day Sherwood wrote to Captain
Mathews, General Haldimand's secretary, regarding his
efforts to induce Allen to make definite proposals to the
British authorities, saying: "He gives reasons which
he refuses to sign, and then writes them himself, but
still refuses to sign."
Sherwood told him that General Haldimand "had too
much reason to suspect that he (Allen) was sent to
frighten Congress and negotiate away the proper season
for a campaign." Allen's reply was of a "defiant char-
acter." Sherwood wrote that Allen's conduct "some-
times induces contempt and always suspicion." He
thought the whole circumstances were suspicious, and
spoke of the negotiations as "this shuffling business."
Notwithstanding these unfavorable opinions, the
negotiations continued until May 25. After the first
heated arguments the conversation appears to have been
more temperate. Allen was denied permission to visit
General Haldimand at Quebec, and wrote him "in
abstruse terms" in regard to his mission. A reply was
brought by Major Lernoult, Adjutant General of the
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 323
army, in which Haldimand declared that "the State of
Vermont must either be united in constitutional liberty
with Great Britain, or continue at enmity with it." He
did not choose to have his instructions transmitted to
Congress, like Col. Beverly Robinson's letters to Ethan
Allen, but would pledge his word of honor for the per-
formance of every article which he had promised.
From day to day the conversations went on between
Allen and the British. Major Dundas, the commandant
at Isle aux Noix, thought the demand to make the cartel
permanent looked like a pretence and that Allen was
sent "to alarm Congress and particular States in order
to gain their own ends." He and Sherwood believed
that the Vermonters wanted "a door open to come and
go into the Province as they wish."
Sherwood's letters to Mathews show how fluctuating
were his opinions. On May 15 he had "some small hope
of reconciliation." Three days later Allen had tried to
persuade him of Vermont's sincerity but Sherwood did
not believe in it until the Vermonters despaired of suc-
cess in every other quarter. On May 20 he had "made
his last effort" to bring Allen to terms, but to no pur-
pose. The Vermont commissioner met Major Lernoult
in a remote part of the island and discussed the possi-
bility of inducing the new State to become a British
colony. Allen warily refused to write anything on the
subject "lest his writings should be exposed, which
would be dangerous in the State, and destroy his influ-
ence there."
Colonel Allen's report of the results of this confer-
ence shows that a cartel was completed for the exchange
324 HISTORY OF VERMONT
of prisoners, and a verbal agreement was made to the
effect that "hostiHties should cease between the British
and those under the jurisdiction of Vermont, until after
the session of the Legislature of Vermont, and until a
reasonable time after ; for a commissary of prisoners to
come on board the Royal George in Lake Champlain
and even longer, if prospects were satisfactory to the
Commander-in-Chief. In the meantime Vermont was
to consolidate her unions to weaken Congress, permit
letters to pass through Vermont to and from Canada
and take more prudent measures to prepare the people
for a change of government.
Arrangements were made between Allen and Sher-
wood for a signal for a messenger "three smoakes on
east side of lake opposite shipping, and at the middle
smoake a small white flag hoisted on a staff." If Gen-
eral Haldimand found it necessary to send a private
express to Vermont Allen desired that it should be "by
a man of trust," who might make himself known to
Governor Chittenden, General Allen, Colonel Allen.
Colonel Brownson, Doctor Fay, Judge Fassett or Cap-
tain Lyon. The message should be sent in such form
that the messenger might swallow or otherwise destroy
it if closely pursued by New York scouts.
Allen left Isle aux Noix at noon, May 25, parting
with the commissioners, as he says, "in high friendship."
Major Dundas furnished the party with ample stores
for the return voyage. On the same day that the Ver-
monters departed, Sherwood wrote Mathews that he be-
lieved Ira and Ethan Allen, Governor Chittenden and a
few others would do their utmost for reunion with
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 325
Great Britain, "from interest, not from loyalty"; but
he added that there was a strong party in Vermont in
favor of Congress "who would do anything to ruin Chit-
tenden and the Aliens." Although some of the early
suspicions regarding Allen were allayed before his mis-
sion was completed, Haldimand considered it prudent to
send a scout at this time "to procure a knowledge of
Mr. Allen's report and behaviour upon his return to
Vermont." This report was made to the Governor and
Council at Sunderland. On the way thither Allen
stopped at Castleton where he advised Captain Hurlburt
and others to remain quietly on their farms and not to
be surprised if a powerful army did not appear for the
protection of the frontiers.
The General Assembly convened in the meeting house
at Bennington on June 13, 1781, at a time when much
suspicion was rife regarding Ira Allen's mission to Isle
aux Noix. The expectation that the matter might be
considered in some of its phases, or the belief that it
should be investigated, brought together a considerable
number of visitors. Assembled in the gallery of the
Bennington meeting house were "several men of discern-
ment" from neighboring States who desired to learn
what affect Vermont's policies would have upon the
American cause. There were Vermonters who sus-
pected that something not altogether proper had been
done, and among the spectators were agents from Can-
ada, ready to carry to General Haldimand any words
which might indicate that the Aliens were insincere in
their secret negotiations with the British authorities.
826 HISTORY OF VERMONT
A few days after the Legislature had assembled a
message was sent to the Governor and Council request-
ing their presence in committee of the whole to con-
sider the subject of Colonel Allen's mission. Having
accepted the invitation, Governor Chittenden declared
that he had received applications from various persons
for an exchange of prisoners ; that he had sent Col. Ira
Allen to Isle aux Noix, where he had completed his
business "with difficulty" ; and that no such exchange of
prisoners had been made with any other State in the
Northern department. Colonel Allen then was re-
quested to make a statement regarding his expedition
and the effects it produced. He replied in substance
that he had been commissioned by the Governor and
Council to settle a cartel with the British for an exchange
of prisoners and had succeeded in his mission. Not
expecting to be called on for information he had left his
commission and papers at home, but offered to make a
verbal explanation or to produce the papers on the fol-
lowing day. The latter offer being accepted he appeared
before the committee of the whole the next day, made a
brief explanation and read the papers. He reported
that he had found among the British officers "a fervent
wish for peace," and concluded with an offer to answer
any question asked from the floor or the gallery. In
his "History of Vermont," Colonel Allen wrote of this
episode that from the papers read "it appeared that the
British had shown great generosity in the business." Of
the effect produced by his appearance he said: "All
seemed satisfied that nothing had been done inconsistent
to the interest of the States ; and those who were in the
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 327
interest of the United States paid their compHments to
Colonel Allen for his open and candid conduct. In the
evening he had a conference with the Canadian spectators
on the business of the day, and they appeared to be as well
satisfied as those from the neighboring States and Ver-
mont." He added this comment : "Is it not curious to see
opposite parties perfectly satisfied with our statement
and each believing what they wished to believe, and
thereby deceiving themselves!" This incident affords
an excellent illustration of Ira Allen's diplomatic skill.
Colonel Allen, on July 10, 1781, wrote to Haldi-
mand an account of his appearance before the Legisla-
ture, which he characterized as "so plausible an account
of the negotiations as to be satisfactory to the spies from
other States and to the great Whigs." He added this
word of caution: "Things must be kept under the rose
until after the new election, when in all probability a
large majority of the officers of Government will be well
disposed."
Maj. Jonas Fay was appointed Commissary of Prison-
ers and in that capacity met the British commissioners.
Captain Chambers being one of them, on board the
Royal George off Dutchman's Point, a few miles south
of the present international boundary line. This meet-
ing took place either late in July or early in August, at
which time the truce was extended. Captain Chambers
wrote General Haldimand that this truce would enable
the Vermonters "to get in their harvest in peace, whilst
we reap no one kind of benefit," and he complained that
Vermonters violated the terms of the truce.
328 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Writing to Germaine on July 8, 1781, Haldimand
alluded to negotiations with Governor Chittenden and
Ethan Allen for the reconciliation of Vermont. He be-
lieved "the real intention of these people is to get better
terms from Congress, but there may yet be a hope of
success." The attitude of the British authorities during
all these negotiations is summed up in the sentence just
quoted.
Sir Henry Clinton wrote to General Haldimand on
July 23, 1781, expressing his belief that a reunion of
Vermont and the Mother Country would be "productive
of happy consequences," but adding the opinion, "I
have my suspicions of these people." Haldimand re-
plied to this letter on August 2, saying that Vermont
was forming magazines and raising men for the alleged
purpose of defending the State against invasion. He
pointed out the significant fact that Canada could not
be invaded without the help or assent of Vermont, and
the same obstacle prevented a Canadian invasion of the
colonies by that route. He was satisfied that the people
of Vermont acknowledged "a preference for Congress,
provided they are admitted as a fourteenth State." He
expressed his opinion of Vermont's attitude toward the
Crown as follows: "If a favorable termination for
Great Britain is pointed at, Vermont will become loyal
and offer assistance not needed, but if the contrary she
will declare for Congress. In six months she will be a
respectable ally for either side." He tells of the arrival
of a letter from Allen "fraught with much sincerity or
much duplicity."
THE HALJ3IMAND NEGOTIATIONS 329
Writing again to Clinton in the autumn, Haldimand
said: "Considering the uniformity of Ira Ahen's con-
duct, he must be the most accompHshed villain living if
he means to deceive us."
On August 10 a British agent reported in regard to
negotiations with Major Fay: ''He professes so much
honesty, accompanied by so many gestures of sincerity,
that he seems to overact his part. He certainly is per-
fectly honest, or a perfect Jesuit: we have too much
reason to fear the latter. * * * ^^ ^^ ^^^ think
Vermont expects by procrastinating to strengthen her-
self as a State, but we believe sincerely they desire to
secure themselves this campaign from invasion of King
or Congress, by spinning out the summer and autumn in
truces, cartels and negotiations, by the expiration of
which they expect to hear the result of the negotiation
at Vienna, and other matters, by which they may be en-
abled to judge of the strongest side, the only motive, (we
believe) by which they are influenced. * * * Upon
the whole it appears to us that interest, not loyalty, in-
duces the leading men to wish a union with Canada ; that
about one-fifth part of the populace wish it from the
same motive; near another fifth from principles of
loyalty; and that the remainder are mad rebels, under
very little, if any, subjection to their nominal leaders,
and so accustomed to domineer over those who from any
motive whatever wish favorably to the King's govern-
ment that the latter dare not make known their wishes
in public."
During September, 1781, previous to the twentieth of
the month, a meeting- of the Vermont and British com-
330 HISTORY OF VERMONT
missioners was held at Skenesborough (Whitehall,
N. Y.) for the exchange of prisoners. At this time a
plan of government for Vermont was discussed, and it
was agreed that it should be substantially that estab-
lished by the Constitution, with the important exception
that the King in Council should appoint the Governor.
To the urgent desire on the part of the British agents
that Vermont should declare itself a Crown colony at
once, the commissioners sent by Governor Chittenden
pointed out the necessity of more time in which to pre-
pare the people for a change of government.
The suggestion also was made that General Haldi-
mand should issue a proclamation, offering to confirm
Vermont as a colony of the Crown if the State would
return to her allegiance. The origin of this suggestion
is attributed by each of the two negotiating parties to
the other.
Haldimand wrote to Clinton on October 1 that as a
result of a conference at Skenesborough with Ira Allen
and Fay, his suspicions were almost if not entirely re-
moved. No offensive operations would be carried on
against Vermont in order that this protection of the
frontiers "might facilitate the efforts of leading men
to gain the populace in preparation for a more effectual
essay in the spring."
From time to time prisoners were exchanged, an order
having been issued by the Governor and Council, June
29, to the several Sheriffs to collect the British prisoners
in Vermont and convey them to Castleton by July 10.
One report tells of the assembling of one hundred and
thirty men, women and children at Skenesborough.
a'k'M-»(.;,.^.-.J.7'- ^' f /'^" lUU./.V..-',.
:,i. «,.;.^f/.4.. .-; ^it...... .-... ^u i /.. ^.~/..:..— ' <■•' V;H
^^-pH. '.- - 4/'-'^' 7 '■'■'' '■ ^h^-'r'--'--'-'"--'r-i'^::-t
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Facsimile of the document recording Vermont's ratification of the Consti-
tution of the United States, which was adopted at Bennington,
January 10, 1791
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 331
Many prisoners in Canada claimed to be Vermonters in
order to take advantage of these negotiations, and Haldi-
mand reported that "some inhabitants of the neighbor-
ing States begin to retire there for safety."
Early in October, 1781, General St. Leger arrived at
Ticonderoga with four gunboats, two ammunition boats,
thirty bateaux and other craft, with two thousand
British troops. Gen. Roger Enos was stationed at Cas-
tleton in command of the Vermont troops. General
Enos and several of his officers were acquainted with the
negotiations carried on with the British, and knew that
no offensive operations against Vermont were intended,
but in order to keep up appearances of hostilities, scout-
ing parties were sent to Lake Champlain occasionally.
One of the parties encountered a similar band sent out
by the British, and shots were exchanged. As a result
of this skirmish, Sergt. Archelaus Tupper, of Col.
Ebenezer Walbridge's regiment was killed. Thereupon
General St. Leger sent Tupper's clothing to General
Enos, together with an open letter expressing regret at
the occurrence and apologizing for it.
At this time the Vermont Legislature was in session
at Charlestown, in that portion of New Hampshire an-
nexed to Vermont. General Enos and Colonels Fletcher
and Walbridge dispatched a messenger named Hath-
away to Governor Chittenden at Charlestown with news
of the arrival of St. Leger's force at Ticonderoga and
incidents connected therewith. Hathaway not only con-
veyed the official dispatches, but as he came through the
streets of Charlestown he proclaimed the news of the
British commander's apology for Tupper's death.
332 HISTORY OF VERMONT
There were plenty of men, particularly in the Connecti-
cut valley, who were hostile to the leaders concerned in
the negotiations with the British, and ready to use such
an incident as that related to their disadvantage.
According to Ira Allen's account of this episode, a
crowd of people followed Hathaway into the large room
where Governor Chittenden and others were assembled.
A Major Reynolds (or Rennals) demanded of Col. Ira
Allen the reason why General St. Leger was sorry that
Sergeant Tupper was killed. Allen replied that he
could not tell unless it was that good men were sorry
when good men were killed. A heated altercation fol-
lowed, during which Allen advised his opponent to go
at the head of his regiment and demand the reason of
St. Leger 's sorrow instead of asking impertinent ques-
tions and eating the country's provisions in idleness
when the frontiers were attacked. The Governor hav-
ing called a private meeting of the Board of War, the
dispatches were read, and new letters were prepared pur-
porting to come from the officers stationed at Castleton
but omitting an account of the British negotiations.
These were read in the Assembly and the Council.
Meanwhile events were happening at Yorktown, Va.,
which gave the Vermonters other reasons for delay.
Although General Cornwallis surrendered on October
19, it was well into November before the news reached
Vermont. As late as November 18, Haldimand wrote
to Germaine: "The critical situation of afifairs to the
southward prevents the Vermonters from declaring
themselves. The minds of the populace are not pre-
pared for the issue of the proclamation. The conduct
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 333
of Vermont will be entirely regulated by events in the
Chesapeake. If fortunate, Vermont will return to her
allegiance, but if not the vulgar are so infatuated with
the idol Independence that nothing but unavoidable
necessity will induce them to relinquish it."
Again, on November 26, Haldimand wrote to Ger-
maine, in a letter marked "most private," that the capitu-
lation of Cornwallis left no hope of a successful con-
clusion of negotiations with Vermont. The joy with
which the news from Yorktown was received in the
Green Mountain State is indicated in a paragraph in
Haldimand's letter, which says: "The people are riot-
ing in the excess of licentious exultation!"
The British Government was unwilling to abandon
the attempt to win the allegiance of Vermont, and early
in January, 1782, Germaine wrote to Haldimand that
steps should be taken "to restore confidence to the Ver-
monters by spring," and that the recovery of that State
was "to be made a primary object of attention." One
of the British commissioners dispatched a letter bearing
the date of February 28, 1782, to Ira Allen by a mes-
senger, earnestly requesting the latter to inform him "in
the most candid, unreserved manner the present wishes
and intentions of the people and leading men of your
State respecting our former negotiations, and what effect
the late catastrophe of Lord Cornwallis had upon
them." He urged him to consider the uncertainties of
war and the possibility that the next campaign might
"wear a very different aspect." Haldimand wrote to
Sir Henry Clinton on April 28 that two months previous
to that date he had sent a message to Ira Allen relative
334 HISTORY OF VERMONT
to Vermont affairs and that the messenger had been
captured after destroying his dispatch. The latter
alhided to the printing in a Fishkill, N. Y., newspaper
of the substance of all of Haldimand's reports to Clin-
ton regarding the Vermont negotiations, due to a be-
trayal of confidence, and declared: "God knows what
bad effect it may have in that affair, particularly if
Allen and Fay had been sincere."
The Vermont negotiations with the British could not
be kept an absolute secret, particularly after the episode
following the death of Sergeant Tupper. Gen. Jacob
Bayley and other leading men in the Connecticut valley
were ready to seize upon any apparent disloyalty to the
American cause in order to prejudice public opinion
against the Aliens, Governor Chittenden and their asso-
ciates, being more zealous, apparently for a union with
New Hampshire than for the preservation of the com-
monwealth of Vermont. Naturally there were many
who bitterly resented any negotiations with the repre-
sentatives of the British Crown. General Stark, whose
friendship for Vermont had aroused the hostility of
New York partisans, was suspicious that all was not
well, and wrote to General Washington concerning the
Vermonters that "their actions and their words appear
to carry a very different meaning." Even Seth Warner
was suspicious of his old comrades in this affair. It is
not surprising that Governor Clinton of New York
should find proof of "a traitorous correspondence be-
tween the leaders of the New Hampshire Grants and the
enemy," as he could hardly be considered an impartial
critic. Early in 1782 General Washington wrote Gov-
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 335
ernor Chittenden concerning the negotiations with the
British, saying: "I will take it for granted, as you
assert it, that they were so far innocent that there never
was any serious intention of joining Great Britain in
their attempt to subjugate your country; but it has this
certain bad tendency : it has served to give some ground
to that delusive opinion of the enemy, upon which they
in great measure found their hopes of success."
Although Ira Allen had a more active part in the nego-
tiations than his brother Ethan, the latter was one of
the Vermont leaders in this affair and in June, 1782,
he wrote to General Haldimand: "The last refusal of
Congress to admit the State into the Union has done
more to awaken common people to a sense of their inter-
est and resentment of their conduct than all which they
had done before. By their own account they declare
that Vermont does not and shall not belong to their con-
federacy; the consequence is, that they may fight their
own battles. It is liberty which they are after, but they
will not extend it to Vermont; therefore Vermont does
not belong to the confederacy or the controversy, but are
a neutral republic." He ofifered to meet Haldimand
anywhere on Lake Champlain and closed by saying:
''There is a majority in Congress and a number of the
principal officers of the Continental army continually
planning against me. I shall do everything in my power
to render this State a British province."
In July, Ira Allen went to Canada with a request from
Governor Chittenden for the release of two Vermont
officers. A letter supposed to have been written b}^
Allen to Haldimand suggested the revival of a charter
336 HISTORY OF VERMONT
said to have been granted to Philip Skene just before
the war began, for a royal province, including what is
now Vermont and some of eastern New York.
The last letter of this correspondence, written to Ira
Allen by direction of General Haldimand, was dated
March 25, 1783. In it the fear is expressed that the
"happy moment" cannot be recalled in which ''the bless-
ings of the British government can be restored"; and
it was declared that the Canadian Governor "views with
concern the fatal consequences approaching which he
has so long and so frequently predicted, from your pro-
crastination."
As a matter of fact the result of this "procrastina-
tion" was anything but fatal from a Vermont point of
view, having accomplished abundantly and exactly what
it was intended to achieve. There is no doubt that
many persons in and out of Vermont viewed the Haldi-
mand negotiations with severe disapproval and were in-
clined to look upon the action of the Vermont leaders in
corresponding with and meeting officers of the British
army, as little short of treasonable. The charges made
are so serious that they deserve the fullest and fairest
consideration. The theory of probabilities ought not to
be ignored in the consideration of a matter which in-
volves the good name of a State and its founders. He
must read his history very superficially who thinks that
these pioneer Vermonters were a type of men who could
be bought or sold, bargained or delivered, by their lead-
ers. No men in America were more radical in their de-
votion to liberty, or more resolute in its defence, than the
Green Mountain Boys. In their capture of Ticonderoga
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 337
they were the first Americans to take a British post and
lower the royal standard. In August, 1777, only four
years before these negotiations began, General Bur-
goyne, in explaining the British defeat at Bennington
to Lord Germaine, said: "The New Hampshire Grants
now abounds in the most rebellious race of the Conti-
nent." Nothing had happened, meanwhile, to change
the attitude of the people of Vermont toward Great
Britain. At this time (1781) the Tory element had
been pretty thoroughly weeded out of Vermont, and
such British sympathizers as remained were not at all
aggressive in their political activities. Ethan and Ira
Allen and Thomas Chittenden might have agreed to de-
liver Mount Mansfield to His Excellency, General Haldi-
mand, at Montreal, with the same probability of keeping
their agreement that would have been involved in
promising to transform Vermont into a royal province
of Great Britain. Even the enemies of these leaders
would not deny their shrewdness and sagacity and it is
an insult to their intelligence to suppose that these men
imagined for a moment that they could lead the resolute
people of the Green Mountains like sheep into the
British fold.
Ethan Allen was not famous for meekness of charac-
ter or mildness of disposition, and it is hardly reason-
able to suppose that two years had sufficed to obliterate
the memory of the long period of cruel and humiliating
captivity which he had suffered in British prisons on
land and sea. Nor had it been long since Thomas Chit-
tenden and his family had abandoned their Williston
home in the Winooski valley, driven out by the threat
338 HISTORY OF VERMONT
of British invasion, and on foot had journeyed through
the forests to a safer residence near Bennington. All
the motives which ordinarily actuate men would induce
the Vermont leaders who conducted these negotiations
to oppose any union with Great Britain. The loyalty
of the Aliens, Governor Chittenden and their associates
to the American cause had not been questioned prior to
the beginning of the Haldimand negotiations. The cor-
respondence will show that the Vermont leaders made
statements, which, if taken at their face value, indicate
a purpose to induce Vermont to come under the protec-
tion of the British flag. But surely the use of strata-
gems as a war policy did not originate in Vermont, and
deceiving the enemy is not counted among the deadly
sins. Contemporary evidence is not lacking, for-
tunately.
In June, 1781, probably on June 13, a "Certificate for
the Protection of Colonel Ira Allen" was signed by Jonas
Fay, Samuel Safford, Samuel Robinson, Joseph Fay,
Thomas Chittenden, Moses Robinson, Timothy Brown-
son and John Fassett. This document referring to the
fact that Allen had been sent to Canada for the purpose
of securing an exchange of prisoners, states that he "has
used his best policy by feigning or endeavoring to make
them believe that the State of Vermont had a desire
to negotiate a treaty of peace with Great Britain; there-
by to prevent the immediate invasion or incursion upon
the frontiers of this State." The certificate adds:
"We are of the opinion that the critical circumstances
this State is in, being out of the Union with the United
States and thereby unable to make that vigorous defence
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 339
we could wish for — think it to be a necessary political
manoeuver to save the frontiers of this State."
Still more explicit is the "Certificate for the Protec-
tion of Colonel Ira Allen," signed about a month later
by Thomas Chittenden, John Fassett, Timothy Brown-
son, Jonas Fay, Samuel Robinson and Joseph Fay, which
declares : "Whereas this State is not in union with the
United States, although often requested, etc. This the
British power are acquainted with and are endeavoring
to take advantage of these disputes thereby to count a
connexion with this State on the principle of establish-
ing it a British province. From various accounts we
are well assured that the British have a force in Canada
larger than this State can at present raise and support
in the field, and this State have no assurance of any
assistance from any or either of the United States how-
ever hard the British forces may crowd in this State
from the province of Quebec by the advantage of the
waters of Lake Champlain, etc. Although several
expresses have been sent by the Governor of this State
to several of the respective Governors of the United
States with the most urgent requests to know whether
any assistance would be afforded in such case, yet no offi-
cial answer has been made to either of them.
"Wherefore we, the subscribers, do fully approbate
Col. Ira Allen sending a letter dated Sunderland, July
10, 1781, and directed to Gen. Haldimand, and another
letter to Capt. Justice (Justus) Sherwood, purporting an
intention of this State's becoming a British province, etc.
This we consider a political proceeding to prevent the
British forces from invading this State, and being a
340 HISTORY OF VERMONT
necessary step to preserve this State from ruin, when
we have too much reason to apprehend that this has been
the wishes of some of our assuming neighbors, in the
meantime to strengthen the State against any insuh
until this State receives better treatment from the United
States or obtain a seat in Congress."
The foregoing statement evidently was written in
anticipation of charges of bad faith or treachery, and
sets forth clearly the reasons for embarking on such a
dangerous policy.
Late in the year 1781, Governor Chittenden, in a letter
to General Washington, wrote with much frankness
concerning the negotiations with the British. After
describing the exposed frontiers of the State he de-
clared that the neighboring States of New York, New
Hampshire and Massachusetts "have severally laid
claims, in part or in whole, to the State, and who have
used every art which they could devise to divide her
citizens, to set Congress against her, and, finally to over-
turn the government and share its territory among
them. The repeated applications of this State to the
Congress of the United States, to be admitted into the
Federal Union with them upon the liberal principles of
paying a just proportion of the expenses of the war with
Great Britain have been rejected and resolutions passed,
C.V parte, tending to create schisms in the State, and
thereby embarrass its efforts in raising men and money
for the defence of her frontiers and discountenancing
the very existence of this State. Every article belong-
ing to the United States even to pickaxes and spades,
has been by the commissioners ordered out of this State
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 341
at a time when she was erecting a line of forts on her
frontiers. At the same time the State of New York
evacuated the post of Sheensborough (Skenesborough),
for the avowed purpose of exposing the State to the
ravages of the common enemy."
Alluding to the injustice of abandoning Vermont
after all the aid that the State had given toward a suc-
cessful prosecution of this war, he declared: "Ver-
mont being thus drawn to desperation by the injustice
of those who should have been her friends, was obliged
to adopt policy in the room of power." After describ-
ing Col. Ira Allen's visit to Canada for the exchange of
prisoners, he added: "While he was transacting that
business he was treated with great politeness, and enter-
tained with political matters which necessity obliged him
to humor in that easy manner that might serve the in-
terests of this State in its extreme critical situation and
that its consequences might not be injurious to the United
States. The plan succeeded. The frontiers of this
State were not invaded, and Lord George Germaine's
letter wrought upon Congress and procured from them
which the public virtue of this people could not."
Daniel Chipman, in his biography of his brother, Hon.
Nathaniel Chipman, writing of the Haldimand negotia-
tions, said : 'T have a personal knowledge of the facts
in the case. For although I was too young at the time
of this secret negotiation to be an actor in public affairs,
yet I lived with my brother, who was a principal actor
in all public transactions at that day, and as we have
seen, was concerned in this negotiation, and from him I
had at the time a knowledge of it from near the com-
342 HISTORY OF VERMONT
mencement to the close. But never did I hear from
him, or any one of the leading men, an intimation that
they thought of complying with the propositions of the
British. But on the contrary, whenever they met, this
secret negotiation was usually a subject of merriment
and exultation that the British were so completely and
so long deceived, to their own injury and our advantage."
Robert R. Livingston of New York in a letter to
Benjamin Franklin alluded to the fact that the people
of Vermont "finding themselves exposed to inroads
from Canada they have tampered with that govern-
ment, and pretended to be washing to form a treaty of
neutrality with them during the war and to return to the
obedience of Britain on a peace. This has had the effect
they intended, and in some measure defeated an expedi-
tion which the enemy made last year."
Jared Sparks, who became familiar with all these
matters in editing Washington's correspondence, in an
allusion to the Vermont leaders who conducted the cor-
respondence with the British, said: "Independence was
their first and determined purpose; and while they were
neglected by Congress, and, like another Poland, threat-
ened with a triple partition between the adjoining States,
they felt at liberty to pursue any course that would
secure their safety, and conduct them towards their ulti-
mate object. It was on this principle that they en-
couraged advances to be made by the British, and not
that they ever had the remotest intention of deserting
the cause of their country, or submitting in any manner
to the jurisdiction of the English government."
THE HALDIMAND NEGOTIATIONS 343
Only a situation of extraordinary danger would
justify the policy adopted by the Vermont leaders in the
Haldimand negotiations. Surrounded on every side by
avowed enemies or covetous neighbors, weakened by
internal dissensions, with Congress indifferent if not
hostile, deserted by those who should have been her
friends, threatened by invasion from a force greater
than she could muster, Vermont's existence as a State
was threatened and the lives and property of her citi-
zens were imperilled. A desperate situation like this
could not be met by the use of ordinary methods. The
Vermont leaders were playing with fire but they handled
the perilous situation with such consummate skill, that
they preserved a brave little commonwealth from de-
struction and their own reputations from obloquy.
Samuel Williams, Vermont's first historian, has well
said of this episode: "Thus while the British Generals
were fondly imagining that they were deceiving, cor-
rupting and seducing the people of Vermont by their
superior arts, address and intrigues, the wiser policy of
eight honest farmers, in the most uncultivated part of
America disarmed their northern troops, kept them quiet
and inoffensive during three campaigns, assisted in sub-
duing Cornwallis, protected the northern frontiers, and
finally saved a State."
In a statement by Ira Allen, printed in Philadelphia,
toward the end of his life, he asserted that the Vermont
negotiations with the British detained in Canada about
ten thousand men, one-third of the British forces in
America, thus aiding materially in the defeat and cap-
ture of the army of Lord Cornwallis at Yorktown.
344 HISTORY OF VERMONT
The negotiations with the British did more to hasten
the admission of Vermont to the Union than all the
prayers and petitions that had been presented to Con-
gress by friends of the Green Mountain Commonwealth.
The possibility of a British colony commanding Lake
Champlain and the route to the Hudson valley, situated
like a wedge driven far into New England, caused no
little alarm. A policy of coercion that might drive Ver-
mont into an alliance with the British was not regarded
with favor, and a new and more conciliatory policy
toward Vermont was adopted soon by Congress. Once
more "out of the nettle danger" was plucked "the flower
safety."
Chapter XXV
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY
GOVERNOR Chittenden's attempt to establish a
more satisfactory understanding with other
States did not cease with the proposal made to
New York. On December 12, 1780, he sent to Gov-
ernor Hancock of Massachusetts and President Weare
of New Hampshire demands that they relinquish their
claims to Vermont jurisdiction, and appeals to join in
the common defence, intimating that otherwise the
State might be obliged to make the best terms possible
with Great Britain. On March 8, 1781, the General
Court of Massachusetts adopted a resolution, which was
approved by the Governor, abandoning all claims to Ver-
mont territory provided Congress recognized this Green
Mountain Commonwealth as an independent State, and
admitted it to the Confederation.
The New Hampshire Legislature on Jahuary 13,
1781, instructed its delegates in Congress to use every
possible means to induce that body to make a speedy and
final determination of the disputes relative to Vermont.
If the decision should be adverse to the establishment
of a separate State, then "all proper motives and argu-
ments" should be urged to have this tract confirmed to
New Hampshire. At the same time that letters were
sent to New York and New Hampshire, Governor Chit-
tenden transmitted others to the Governors of Connecti-
cut and Rhode Island, proposing an alliance and perma-
nent confederation. The Connecticut Legislature sug-
gested that the request of Vermont for admission to the
Union be proposed at a meeting of commissioners repre-
senting the four New England States and New York,
to be held at Providence, R. I., and directed its commis-
348 HISTORY OF VERMONT
sioners, William West, William Bradford and Esek
Hopkins, appointed to attend a New England conven-
tion at Providence, April 12, in particular to take into
consideration the subject matter of the policy and jus-
tice of admitting into union and confederation with the
thirteen United States of America, the people calling
themselves the State of Vermont.
When Congress postponed action on the Vermont
controversy, in the fall of 1780, an impression was
created that that body did not intend to attempt a settle-
ment of the dispute. The faction in Cumberland county
which had favored New York was left in a somewhat
embarrassing position. At a convention of committees
representing several of the Cumberland county towns,
held October 31, 1780, it was decided that the only
alternative to submission to the Vermont government
was a union with the Connecticut valley towns, which
sought to establish a State, the western boundary of
which should be the Green Mountains. A committee
of thirteen was appointed, headed by Luke Knowlton,
to consult with persons on both sides of the Connecticut
River, to consider the feasibility of a new government.
Delegates from this valley met at Charlestown, N. H.,
November 8, and adjourned in order to gain further
information concerning the sentiments of the people in
the region supposed to be particularly interested in form-
ing a new State. At a convention of delegates from
several towns in Cheshire county, held at Walpole,
N. H., November 15, of which Benjamin Bellows was
chairman, it was voted to call a Convention of all the
towns on the Grants at Charlestown, on the third Tues-
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 349
day of the following January, "to unite in such measures
as the majority shall judge most conducive to consoli-
date a union of the Grants, and effect a final settlement
not present them.
As soon as it appeared that this Convention was likely
to be attended by a considerable number of delegates,
the various parties vitally interested began to bestir
themselves. Vermont, threatened with a loss of not
less than half its territory, and facing great dangers of
political annihilation, in this crisis sent one man to
Charlestown, but that man was Ira Allen, who was
authorized by the Governor and Council "to take such
measures as his prudence should dictate, and which
might be conducive to the interest of the State." He
took credentials from the town of Sunderland, but did
of the line of jurisdiction."
New Hampshire was in danger of losing two-thirds
of her territory, if the plan suggested was carried out,
and the influence of the government of that State was
exerted in favor of a union of all the Grants with New
Hampshire, according to the plans of the Cornish Con-
vention of 1778. The agents of New York were present
to advocate the plan of a Connecticut valley State,
hoping, apparently, that if only that portion of Vermont
west of the Green Mountains were left, it would ulti-
mately be absorbed by its powerful neighbor.
The Charlestown Convention met on January 16,
1781, and elected Capt. Samuel Chase of Cornish,
chairman, and Prof. Bezaleel Woodward of Dartmouth
College, clerk. Forty-three towns were represented,
but all of these were east of the Green Mountains. A
350 HISTORY OF VERMONT
committee was appointed to propose matters of business
for the Convention, consisting of General Bellows,
Daniel Jones, Colonel Hunt, Professor Woodward,
Colonel Bedel, Colonel Payne, Colonel Olcott, Captain
Curtis, Mr. White, Colonel Wells, Luke Knowlton and
Mr. Townsend.
By a large majority the Convention voted to unite
all the New Hampshire Grants to New Hampshire. In
order to make certain corrections for publication the
report was recommitted to the committee with direc-
tions to lay it before the Convention the next morning.
The friends of New Hampshire were jubilant over the
turn affairs had taken, but that night Ira Allen arrived
on the scene, and so diligently did he labor that when
the committee assembled the next morning, January 18,
the vote of January 17 was rescinded, and by a large
majority — the principal opposition coming from twelve
members of the New Hampshire Assembly — it was
voted to annex to Vermont that portion of New Hamp-
shire between Mason's line and the Connecticut River.
Allen assured the delegates that the Vermont Legislature
at its February session would concur in this agreement,
although it had repealed the union of 1778 with sixteen
towns east of the Connecticut River.
This was indeed one of the most remarkable achieve-
ments of this remarkable man. The history of few
States can show an instance where an adverse vote,
threatening the very existence of a commonwealth, was
changed over night, by the energy and skill of one man,
into a majority favoring the annexation of a substantial
portion of the territory of the State that a few hours
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 351
earlier expected to do the annexing. Vermont is in-
debted to Ira Allen, in no small measure, for its exist-
ence as a State, and in this emergency for its preserva-
tion from disintegration and perhaps from dissolution.
John L. Rice well said of Ira Allen in an address on
^'Dartmouth College and the State of New Connecticut,"
delivered before the Connecticut Valley Historical
Society: "The indomitable energy and sleepless vigi-
lance of this remarkable man, so priceless to Vermont,
in all his struggles, proved the salvation of the infant
State in what was probably the most critical moment
of its history." Even though other moments in Ver-
mont history may be considered as critical as this, one
cannot easily overestimate the services which Ira Allen
rendered to his State on that eventful night. This
episode furnishes an admirable illustration of the mas-
terful skill by which a born leader of men, single
handed, occasionally may turn defeat into victory.
Alexander Hamilton, by the power of his eloquence and
the soundness of his reasoning, converted a sufficient
number of a hostile majority to make possible New
York's ratification of the United States Constitution.
General Sheridan exercised a similar power of leader-
ship during the Civil War, when he turned a defeated
and retreating army into a conquering host, and made
Cedar Creek a Union instead of a Confederate victory.
Ira Allen's diplomatic triumph may not be as well
known as the triumph of Hamilton or the victory of
Sheridan, but it sufficed between sun and sun to outwit
the plotters who had planned for many months to over-
throw the little Green Mountain republic, and those who
352 HISTORY OF VERMONT
love Vermont will not forget the magnitude of the
diction over the same.
The Vermont Legislature was to meet at Windsor,
February 8, 1781, and after appointing a committee to
confer with that body, the Convention adjourned to
meet at Cornish, just across the Connecticut River from
Windsor, on the same day that the Vermont legislators
policy of annexation.
When the Vermont Legislature convened, it received
a request for a hearing from Elisha Payne, chairman of
the Charlestown Convention. Before this request
was granted the House, meeting with the Governor and
Council, went into committee of the whole, and for three
days considered the advisability of attempting to enlarge
the territory of the State in the east and west, by a
were to assemble.
A committee of seven having been appointed, with
Joseph Bowker as chairman, to consider the matter fur-
ther, reported that in order to quiet the disturbance on
both sides of the Connecticut River, and to make pos-
sible a better defence of the frontiers, that the Legisla-
ture of Vermont should lay a jurisdictional claim to cer-
tain lands east of the Connecticut, but recommended that
no immediate attempt should be made to exercise juris-
service rendered.
It was further recommended that taking into account
the hostile attitude of New York, and the failure of that
State to protect her own frontiers adjacent to Vermont,
and considering the extent of that colony over which
Great Britain intended Philip Skene to govern, that
the Legislature should lay "a jurisdictional claim" to
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 353
the region north of the northerly Hne of Massachusetts
and extending to the Hudson River. This report was
accepted in committee of the whole and by the General
Assembly.
After various conferences between committees repre-
senting the Vermont Legislature and the Convention
sitting at Cornish, articles of union were agreed upon
which provided that the Vermont Constitution should
be adopted, subject to revision; that as soon as possible
application for admission to the Confederation of States
should be made to Congress; that the war expenses of
the several towns should be equitably adjusted; that
judgments for fines and forfeitures against persons pro-
fessing to be subjects of New York on October 1, 1780,
be annulled ; and that no civil suits should be maintained
against the persons mentioned for trespasses committed
against Vermont officers. The Vermont committee then
proposed to the Cornish Convention as necessary to the
peace and well-being of the State: ''That the inde-
pendence of the State of Vermont be held sacred; and
that no member of the Legislature shall give his vote
or otherwise use endeavors to obtain any act or resolu-
tion of Assembly, which shall endanger the existence,
independence or well being of the State, by referring its
independence to the arbitrament of any power." This
proposal was accepted, and the Legislature took a recess
until April 4, after providing for referring the proposed
union to the towns of Vermont and the regions it was
proposed to annex. If two-thirds of the towns on each
side of the river approved the union then it should be con-
sidered as ratified.
354 HISTORY OF VERMONT
When the Legislature reassembled at Windsor, April
5, the returns showed that the proposed Eastern Union
had been approved. The New Hampshire towns which
voted to unite with Vermont were Hinsdale, Walpole,
Surry, Gilsom, Alstead, Charlestown, Acworth, Lem-
ster, Saville, Claremount, Newport, Cornish, Croydon,
Plainfield, Grantham, Marlow, Lebanon, Grafton, Dres-
den, Hanover, Cardigan, Lyme, Dorchester, Haverhill,
Landaff, Gunthwait, Lancaster, Piermont, Richmond,
Chesterfield, Westmoreland, Bath, Lyman, Morristown
alias Franconia and Lincoln. The Vermont towns of
Bennington, Manchester, Clarendon, Dummerston, Lon-
donderry, Woodstock and Hertford opposed the union.
Members from most of the towns east of the Connec-
ticut River, which voted for union with Vermont, ap-
peared, and were given seats in the General Assembly.
Soon after the annexation of these New Hampshire
towns, the proposed Western Union was taken up by
the Vermont Legislature. Petitions from several New
York towns were received on April 10, 1781, asking to
be placed under Vermont jurisdiction. These towns
included Cambridge, Camden, Granville and Skenes-
borough. The petitions having been considered in
committee of the whole, that committee reported on
April 11 that the Legislature recommend to the people
to the westward over which Vermont had recently laid
a jurisdictional claim, that they should appoint members
to attend a convention to be held at Cambridge (N. Y.)
the second Wednesday of May; that a legislative com-
mittee be appointed to meet this convention ; that in case
articles of union and the matter of raising men for the
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 355
defence of the frontiers be agreed upon, that the arti-
cles be transmitted to the various districts, and that
members should be elected to the Vermont Assembly;
that in the event that two-thirds of the districts choose
such members they should take their seats. The report
was adopted by a vote of forty-eight to thirty-nine. All
but twelve of the negative votes were cast by members
from towns east of the Connecticut River and until re-
cently a part of New Hampshire. Evidently the Con-
necticut River towns did not look with favor upon any
annexations which would deprive that valley of its
supremacy in the Vermont Legislature.
At a convention held at Cambridge (N. Y.) May 9,
1781, representatives were present from Hoosick,
Schaghticoke, Cambridge, Saratoga, Upper White
Creek, Black Creek, Granville, Skenesborough, Green-
field, Kingsbury, Fort Edward and Little Hoosick.
It was proposed that the district lying north of a
line extending from the northern boundary of Massa-
chusetts to the Hudson River, east of said river and
south of the forty-fifth parallel of latitude, be con-
sidered a part of the State of Vermont; that the whole
military force of Vermont should be exerted in the
defence of this district as occasion might require; that
application should be made for the admission of
Vermont to the Confederation as soon as circum-
stances would permit; that the people of the dis-
trict should have credit for the Continental taxes they
had paid into the New York treasury if Vermont should
be called upon later to pay its proportion of money
emitted by Congress; that no additional costs should
356 HISTORY OF VERMONT
result to the people of the district on account of a trans-
fer of court jurisdiction; that the changing of jurisdic-
tion should not affect or alienate private property. The
committee of the Vermont Legislature, of which Moses
Robinson was chairman, stipulated that the independ-
ence of Vermont should be held sacred and that when
the State became a member of the American Confedera-
tion the Legislature should submit any boundary dis-
putes to Congress or any other tribunal mutually agreed
upon.
These terms having been accepted by the Cambridge
committee, the Vermont Legislature approved the arti-
cles by a vote of fifty-three to twenty- four. Eighteen
of the negative votes were cast by members from towns
east of the Connecticut River. Credentials were then
presented admitting fifteen persons from the Western
District as members of the General Assembly. It was
voted that notice of the annexation of territory and
reasons therefor be transmitted to adjacent States, and
that delegates be appointed to repair to Congress with
the power to propose and receive terms for a union with
the United States, such delegates to be empowered to
take seats in Congress when terms of union should be
agreed upon. Jonas Fay, Ira Allen and Bezaleel Wood-
ward were appointed delegates to Congress.
By legislative enactment the Western District was
divided into townships, Little Hoosick, Hoosick, Cam-
bridge, Schaghticoke and Saratoga East being annexed
to Bennington county, while Argyle, Black Creek, East-
borough, North Granville, South Granville, Fort
Edward, Kingsbury, Skenesborough and White Creek
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 357
became a part of Rutland county. Governor Chittenden
issued a proclamation on July 18, 1781, formally extend-
ing the authority of Vermont over these townships,
claiming that the government of New York had been
very deficient in defending the inhabitants of this terri-
tory, of late had abandoned them to the ravages of the
enemy, and that for several years Vermont had been the
main support and protection of the people of this West-
ern District.
In June, 1781, President Weare of New Hampshire
forwarded to the delegates representing that State in
the Continental Congress, petitions from the towns of
Walpole, Westmoreland and Swanzey, opposing union
with Vermont. A letter accompanied these petitions
which declared that "no supplies of men, money or pro-
vision can be collected at present from more than two-
thirds even of that part of the State which lies east of
Connecticut River, and unless Congress brings matters
to an immediate issue, we cannot tell how far the con-
tagion may run, but very much fear that the State will
be very soon ruined in a great measure, and not able
to contribute further towards the war."
Early in August a memorial signed by James Duane
and Ezra LeHommedieu, delegates representing New
York, was presented to Congress, protesting against the
"high handed encroachments" of the people of the New
Hampshire Grants, praying for a decision of the vexed
question of jurisdiction, and laying claim again to the
whole territory in dispute.
In order to comprehend the policy of Congress it
should be understood that the action of Vermont in
358 HISTORY OF VERMONT
annexing portions of New Hampshire and New York,
and the receipt of an intercepted letter from Lord
George Germaine relating to British offers to Vermont,
had thoroughly alarmed that body. James Madison, in
a letter written to Edmund Pendleton, August 14, 1781,
alluded to the probability of a speedy decision of the
Vermont controversy, saying: "Notwithstanding the
objections to such an event, there is no question but they
will soon be established into a separate and Federal
State."
Congress, on August 7, 1781, authorized the appoint-
ment of a committee of five to confer with such person or
persons as might be appointed by the people of the New
Hampshire Grants "respecting their claim to be an inde-
pendent State, and on what terms it may be proper to
admit them into the Federal Union of these States." It
was resolved that in case Congress should recognize the
independence of Vermont that the lands belonging to
New Hampshire and New York should be guaranteed
against the encroachments of the new State. The com-
mittee authorized by Congress consisted of Messrs.
Boudinot of New Jersey, Vandyke of Delaware, Car-
roll of Maryland, Montgomery of Pennsylvania, and
Randolph of Virginia. The resolutions adopted by Con-
gress relative to Vermont were sent to Governor Chit-
tenden by General Washington, who selected Capt. Ezra
Heacock as his special messenger, and charged him to
ascertain whether the people of Vermont would be satis-
fied with the independence suggested by Congress, or
whether they were really desirous of union with Great
Britain. Governor Chittenden talked freely with the
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 359
messenger, assuring him that the people of Vermont
were zealous supporters of national independence, and
desired admission as a State of the Union; that the
negotiations with Canada were to secure the State from
invasion, but that under no circumstances would Ver-
monters submit to the jurisdiction of New York.
Congress having instructed its committee to confer
with the Vermont delegates to Congress, Jonas Fay,
Ira Allen and Bezaleel Woodward, a meeting was held
on August 18. Questions were submitted to the Ver-
mont delegates and from the answers given it is learned
that Vermont probably contained at that time a popula-
tion of about thirty thousand, and that approximately
seven thousand men were available for militia service.
On August 20, Congress voted that an indispensable pre-
liminary to the recognition of Vermont's independence
would be the relinquishment of the claims recently made
to territory in New Hampshire and New York.
The Vermont Legislature, at its session held in
October, 178L at Charlestown in the East Union, in
that portion of New Hampshire recently annexed, con-
sidered the report made by its delegates to Congress, and
it was resolved "to hold the articles of union which
connect each part of the State with the other inviolate."
It was declared that the action of the delegates to Con-
gress, in expressing a willingness to accept the Connec-
ticut River as the eastern boundary, should not be con-
sidered binding. As an evidence of willingness to settle
boundary disputes, the Legislature proposed that nine
persons should be elected as commissioners to treat, re-
spectively, with commissioners representing New
360 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Hampshire and New York, the decision of such com-
mission to be held "secretly binding." These resolu-
tions were adopted unanimously, and Elisha Payne,
Jonas Fay, Ira Allen, Peter Olcott, Daniel Jones, Col.
Gideon Warren, Phineas Whiteside, Col. Joseph Cald-
well and Ezra Stiles, were elected to represent Ver-
mont. This session of the Legislature appears to have
been controlled by what has been called the Dartmouth
College party.
Copies of the resolutions adopted by the Vermont
Legislature, relative to boundary matters, were trans-
mitted to New Hampshire and New York. Ira Allen,
writing later concerning this matter, expressed the
opinion that agents should have been sent to these States
as soon as the resolutions were adopted. He believed
that at that time New Hampshire could have been per-
suaded to accept Vermont's proposals. Then, if New
York rejected the offer made, with the aid of friendly
States, Vermont might have retained the "West Union."
In December, 1781, Governor Chittenden sent Ira
Allen to urge New Hampshire to agree to the terms
proposed, but the time for conciliatory measures had
passed.
The annexation by Vermont of portions of the States
of New York and New Hampshire very naturally was a
source of trouble in a region in which the inhabitants
for a considerable period had had no occasion to com-
plain of the deadly dullness of their daily life. From
the beginning of the controversy over the New Hamp-
shire Grants, a considerable number of New Yorkers
had sympathized with the Green Mountain Boys.
CJ
ril^!!!-?
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 361
Owing to the neglect of New York in defending the
frontiers of the State in the upper Hudson and Cham-
plain valleys, the extension of Vermont jurisdiction was
welcomed by many of the people in the district annexed,
although it was resented by others. Col. John Williams,
writing to Governor Clinton from White Creek,
June 5, 1781, said: "Nothing but Yorkers and Ver-
monters is talked of, and even the boys and youngsters
are fighting almost daily on the subject." The dissatis-
faction of the people of this district with the New York
government was shown by Colonel Williams in the fol-
lowing statement: "Nothing scarcely talked of but the
bad conduct of the Legislature and the administration
of government in this State; no troops on the frontiers,
no provisions nor no money, nor have the men got
ammunition, although an alarm is every day expected.
Cambridge regiment is sufficiently supplied with that
article from Vermont last week, and I am told some
of this regiment got ammunition yesterday in the same
way." Later in the summer Col. Brinton Paine and
others of Saratoga were obliged to apply to Governor
Chittenden to loan them a supply of ammunition on the
occasion of an alarm. White Creek citizens wrote to
Governor Clinton on August 31: "Scarce any ammu-
nition, no field officers worth notice in the county, nor
guards, excepting a few from Vermont for a few days
in front of us." John Younglove reported his inability
to keep the people of Cambridge firm in their allegiance
to New York, saying: "We are now as near as I can
guess, about half and half, almost at swords points."
Col. John VanRensselaer made affidavit on October 17
362 HISTORY OF VERMONT
that Vermont had exercised authority in the Hoosick
district of Albany county since May, and that during
the summer property of the friends of New York had
been seized and sold at auction to satisfy "delinquencies
to that State." General Sterling, writing from Sara-
toga on November 3, tells of the receipt of the news
of the surrender of Cornwallis, and adds: "We had
it announced here by fourteen cannon, the last in com-
pliment to our friends in Vermont, who have with great
alertness joined us to repel the attempt of our common
enemy."
Part of the militia in the "Western District," as the
New York territory annexed by Vermont was called,
went over to the new State. Early in October Colonel
Van Rensselaer arrested at Lansingburg, Samuel Fair-
banks, who had received a Vermont commission as
Lieutenant Colonel, and others who were associated
with him, breaking into their houses for this purpose.
Samuel Robinson and Gen. Samuel Safford protested
vigorously to General Stark, the former saying: "If
your honor cannot find the militia of Albany some other
employment I shall march my regiment to that quarter,
and try powder and ball with them, which I have as
well as they." Fairbanks made his escape in a skir-
mish in which three New Yorkers were wounded.
Governor Chittenden demanded the release of the pris-
oners taken, threatening to refrain from giving assist-
ance in the event of a British invasion of New York
unless the men were returned, and asserting that "power
was not limited to New York."
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 363
Early in December Colonel Abbott, who had trans-
ferred his allegiance from New York to Vermont,
arrested Col. John VanRensselaer and others at a public
house in Hoosick. They were taken to Bennington,
and, according to a report of the captured officers, were
treated "in a most scandalous manner.'' The Benning-
ton authorities, however, discharged the prisoners.
General Gansevoort, on December 5, advised Colonels
Yates and H. VanRensselaer to march with all dispatch
to Sancoick to aid in putting down an insurrection that
had taken place in their respective regiments. General
Stark, however, in orders issued to Colonel Yates,
warned him to be very cautious not to begin hostilities,
but to act defensively until reinforced.
Colonel Yates, then at Sancoick, appealed to General
Gansevoort, on December 12, to forward troops to him
with all speed, saying: "I am weak, only about 80 men,
and the insurrectors about 146." He asked that a field
piece and some artillerymen should be sent, as the "riot-
ers" were occupying a blockhouse.
After consulting the Council, Governor Chittenden,
on December 15, wrote General Stark that he had deter-
mined to call a session of the Legislature, to meet at
Bennington as soon as possible to consider measures
that might promote peace and tranquility. He earnestly
appealed to General Stark to request the New York
officers to suspend military operations until the meeting
of the Vermont Legislature. In the event of refusal
he asked General Stark not to interfere with his troops.
He assured him that if the New York authorities would
comply with the request made, and would liberate the
364 HISTORY OF VERMONT
prisoners captured, Vermont would suspend jurisdiction
during that time over persons claiming to be subjects of
New York.
Ira Allen is authority for the statement that Gov-
ernor Chittenden attempted to quiet the disturbance by
writing letters. This method failing, he sent Colonel
Walbridge and General Safiford into the Western Union
to effect a settlement if possible. While they succeeded
in quieting the disturbance to some extent, peace was
not established. At the request of the Governor, Ira
Allen visited the camp of Colonel Abbott, commanding
the militia favorable to Vermont authority, and advised
that hostilities should not be begun until orders were
given by Governor Chittenden. He also visited the
camp of General Gansevoort, in an endeavor to settle
the controversy. He found that officer much opposed
to civil war, but of the opinion that New York must
protect those who professed allegiance to the State.
Upon his return Colonel Allen advised that the only
way to restore peace, and avoid bloodshed, was to send
a force against General Gansevoort sufficiently large to
overawe him, and compel him to retreat. According
to Allen, Col. Ebenezer Walbridge was ordered to carry
out such a policy.
On December 17, Colonel Walbridge submitted to
Col. H. VanRensselaer proposals that the latter release
all prisoners; that he make good all damage to individ-
uals done by New York troops ; and that persons in the
disputed territory should remain unmolested until the
controversy should be adjusted by Congress, or some
other tribunal. On the following day General Ganse-
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 365
voort demanded an explanation of the presence in New
York of a large body of troops from the Grants, with
artillery. Colonel Walbridge replied with a statement
asserting that he was protecting those who had declared
allegiance to Vermont, and urged again proposals for
conciliatory methods.
Gansevoort had applied to Stark on December 16 for
a field piece and troops to aid in driving the "insur-
gents" from the blockhouse they occupied. Stark re-
plied, that, although disposed to give him aid, he did
not feel justified in complying with the request without
orders from General Heath, adding that his troops were
almost naked. Gansevoort, in reporting the incident,
hinted rather broadly that Governor Chittenden's re-
quest had influenced General Stark.
Hearing that the "insurgents" had been reinforced
by five hundred Vermont militia and a field piece.
Colonel Yates thought it advisable to retire in conse-
quence of orders not to risk an action unless there was
a prospect of success. Two spies had been sent to Ben-
nington, who reported that they had seen about one
hundred armed men at Mr. Dewey's tavern, had listened
to aggressive opinions expressed by Major Tichenor
and Gen. Ethan Allen, had learned that five hundred
men had been ordered out, and had seen a field piece and
a number of armed men near Sancoick.
General Gansevoort had gone to Schaghticoke to take
command of the militia, but meeting Colonel Yates in
full retreat, on December 19, he disbanded the troops,
givinr^ as his reasons, that from the regiments of
Colonels Yates, VanRensselaer, VanVechten and Major
366 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Taylor, only eighty men appeared. Only the colonel, a
few officers and one private of VanVechten's regiment
reported for duty. Other reasons given were that the
men were not supplied with provisions and had been
absent from home for a considerable period. Ganse-
voort expressed the opinion that if his whole brigade
and that of General VanRensselaer had been ordered
out, they would have been insufficient to suppress the
insurrection. He decided, therefore, instead of settling
the controversy by force of arms that he would leave
the matter to the Governor, Legislature and Congress,
adding the information that the friends of the New
York government in Schaghticoke, and Hoosick were in
a precarious condition, and he feared that they would
be obliged to abandon their homes, or swear allegiance
to Vermont. Certainly the prestige of Vermont did not
sufifer as a result of this episode.
The annexation of New Hampshire towns bred
trouble of the same kind as that which followed the
extension of Vermont's frontier toward the Hudson.
In November, 1781, Sainuel Davis, Constable of Chester-
field under the jurisdiction of Vermont, was prevented
from serving a writ by two men friendly to the New
Hampshire government, Grandy and Brigham. These
men were arrested and confined in the Charlestown jail,
from which place they appealed to the New Hampshire
Legislature for relief. Col. Enoch Hale, Sheriif of
Cheshire county under the jurisdiction of New Hamp-
shire, was ordered to release Grandy and Brigham, but
in attempting to obey the order he himself was arrested.
Later Sherifif Hale was arraigned before two Vermont
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 367
magistrates on the charge of attempting to break jail
and was returned to prison.
The New Hampshire Legislature thereupon enacted
a law, authorizing a committee of safety to issue an
order demanding the release from prison of persons
arrested under the authority of the "pretended State of
Vermont." Gen. Benjamin Bellows, however, informed
President Weare that something more effectual than
acts of the General Assembly was needed to open prison
doors. He had heard that the Vermont authorities
could raise six hundred men at short notice, and would
"resolutely dispute the ground inch by inch." His ad-
vice was to the effect that unless a posse could be raised
outside of Cheshire county it would be inadvisable to
dispute the ground any longer. Governor Chittenden
having been notified by Dr. William Page of Charles-
town, the Vermont Sheriff, that military aid was needed
to prevent the release of Colonel Hale, directed Lieut.
Gov. Elisha Payne to repel force by force if necessary,
but to use every means in his power to prevent blood-
shed. He was given authority to call out any part or
all of the militia east of the Green Mountains if New
Hampshire insisted upon hostile measures. A copy of
these orders was sent to President Weare by General
Payne with a notice that if New Hampshire commenced
hostilities that State must be accountable for the conse-
quences. The next step appears to have been an order
issued by Gen. Samuel Fletcher, calling out the militia
east of the Green Mountains for the defence of the East
Union.
368 HISTORY OF VERMONT
The New Hampshire Committee of Safety, on Decem-
ber 27, 1781, ordered Sheriff Robert Smith to arrest
certain residents of Cheshire county, including Samuel
King and Nathaniel Prentice, members of the Vermont
Legislature. King was arrested, but after being con-
ducted for twenty miles, he was rescued at Keene by a
party armed with clubs, swords and staves. Gen. Ben-
jamin Bellows informed President Weare that this
*'mob" abused the persons who aided in King's arrest
"in a shameful and barbarous manner," inflicting "all
the indignities which such an hellish pack can be guilty
of." More than that, he said that they threatened "to
kill, burn and destroy the persons and property of all
who oppose them."
Col. Ira Allen was sent to New Hampshire on a mis-
sion of peace, but accomplished nothing. While he was
at Exeter, General Enos and Sheriff Page arrived on a
similar errand. The latter was immediately arrested
for accepting office from Vermont, and was confined in
jail, bail being refused. On January 12, President
Weare issued a proclamation giving Vermonters forty
days to leave the East Union or acknowledge the juris-
diction of New Hampshire, following an act of the New
Hampshire Legislature authorizing the raising of an
armed force of one thousand men for the protection of
the western portion of the State. It was also voted to
notify Congress of the state of affairs.
In Governor Chittenden's letter to General Washing-
ton, dated November 14, 1781, in which the negotiations
with the British were discussed, he alluded to the rela-
tions of the State with New York and New Hampshire,
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 369
in which he said that "the cabinet of Vermont projected
the extension of their claim of jurisdiction upon the
States of New Hampshire and New York, as well to
quiet some of her own internal divisions occasioned by
the machinations of those two governments, as to make
them experience the evils of intestine broils, and
strengthen the State against insult."
On New Year's day, 1782, Washington replied to
Chittenden, writing not officially, but as one citizen to
another, saying that he did not think it necessary to
discuss the right of the people of the New Hampshire
Grants, now known as Vermont, to the tract of country
they occupied. He was willing to assume that their
right was good, because Congress by a resolution
adopted August 7 admitted that right by implication,
and by its action two weeks later appeared willing to
confirm it, provided the new State was confined to cer-
tain prescribed bounds. In his opinion the only real dis-
pute involved a question of boundaries, and he asked if
the recent annexations were not more of a political
manoeuvre than an assertion of a justifiable claim.
Expressing his private opinion that Congress should
do ample justice to a body of people sufficiently respect-
able by their numbers and entitled by other claims to be
admitted to the Confederation, he called attention to the
fact that if the rights of Vermont were acknowledged,
that State would be the first to be admitted as a mem-
ber of the Confederacy, and if encroachments upon
ancient boundaries were permitted a bad precedent
would be established. To this advice he added a warn-
370 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ing concerning the possible necessity of coercion by
Congress.
Early in January, 1782, in accordance with a resolu-
tion adopted by the Governor and Council, Lieutenant
Governor Payne, Bezaleel Woodward, Ethan Allen,
John Eassett, Jr., and Matthew Lyon were appointed a
committee to prepare a defence of the Eastern and West-
ern Unions, although the author is thought to have been
Ethan Allen. The argument is summed up in the clos-
ing sentence, which declares that "Vermont does not
mean to be so overrighteous as by that means to die be-
fore her time; but for the States of New York and
New Hampshire, to stand griping their respective
claims fast hold of Vermont, and at the same time make
such a tedious outcry against the gripe of Vermont
upon them, is altogether romantic and laughable."
The New York Legislature adopted resolutions
expressing great alarm at the evident intention of
Congress, as a matter of political expediency, to recog-
nize the State of Vermont, in accordance with resolu-
tions adopted on August 7 and 20, 1781, and these reso-
lutions were presented to Congress and ordered to be
filed among the archives. Mr. Floyd of New York
moved to amend the records by adding the words "and
protesting against any attempt made by Congress to
carry into execution their said acts of the 7th and 20th
of August last." Five States favored the motion and
only one, Rhode Island, voted no, but a majority of the
States having failed to vote, the motion was lost.
Letters and papers relating to Vermont were pre-
sented to Congress for consideration, and the subject
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 371
was debated on January 25 and again on January 28,
1782, after which it was referred to a grand committee.
During the month of February various letters and
memorials giving the Vermont point of view were pre-
sented to Congress. Some of these were signed by Ira
Allen and Jonas Fay, while to others was added the
name of Abel Curtis of Norwich, who did not arrive
in Philadelphia as soon as his colleagues. Allen and
Fay presented credentials showing their reappointment,
documents relating to the annexation of the Eastern and
Western Unions and an appeal for the recognition of
her independence and admission to the Federal Union.
It was argued by the entire committee that when the
power of the royal government in the American Colo-
nies ceased the people were left at liberty to institute
such government as might appear to them to be "most
conducive to their peace and happiness." Requests
were made for copies of papers filed by New Hamp-
shire and New York.
Seth Smith, with the approval of Governor Clinton,
presented a ''Representation" to Congress on behalf of
citizens in the towns of Guilford and Brattleboro, assert-
ing that a very great majority of the people of those
towns and three-fourths of the people residing between
the Green Mountains and the Connecticut River, desired
to return to the jurisdiction of New York.
A committee consisting of Messrs. Livermore of New
Hampshire, Partridge of Massachusetts, Cornell of
Rhode Island, Law of Connecticut, Floyd of New York,
Boudinot of New Jersey, Clymer of Pennsylvania, Rod-
ney of Delaware, Carroll of Maryland, Randolph of
372 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Virginia, Hawkins of North Carolina, Middleton of
South Carolina and Telfair of Georgia, appointed to
consider various matters relating to Vermont, reported
a resolution which provided that if the inhabitants,
within a month after a certified copy of the resolutions
adopted by Congress relative to the matter, were deliv-
ered to Thomas Chittenden, by some authenticated act
should recognize the boundaries designated, excluding
the Eastern and Western Unions, and should accede to
the articles of Confederation, then the district should
be acknowledged a free, independent and sovereign State
and considered a part of the Federal Union, All
attempts to amend the resolution on March 1 were lost.
New York delegates attempted to strike out the entire
resolution, but it was supported by Massachusetts,
Rhode Island, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and
Maryland. The States voting against it were New
York, Virginia, South Carolina and Georgia, and one
member each from New Hampshire and North Carolina.
The Vermont delegation had returned home before the
resolution was brought to a vote, having notified Con-
gress on February 21 that legislative duties at home
demanded their attention, and that they were not urgent
for a hasty determination relative to the matter of ad-
mission to the Union.
When the Vermont Legislature met at Bennington,
February 11, 1782, General Washington's letter to Gov-
ernor Chittenden relative to annexation of portions of
New York and New Hampshire, and a letter, evidently
of similar tenor, from Gen. Oliver Wolcott of Connec-
ticut, were laid before that body. After considering
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 373
the matter for several days, the General Assembly, in
committee of the whole, voted as its opinion, that Con-
gress, in guaranteeing to New York and New Hamp-
shire the territory within certain limits, had fixed the
boundary of Vermont. It was voted therefore to relin-
quish all claims to the portions of New York and New
Hampshire recently annexed in order that the State
might be admitted to the Union. Moses Robinson, Paul
Spooner and Isaac Tichenor were elected a committee
to transact the public business of the State with Con-
gress. They were directed to proceed to Philadelphia
without delay, and as plenipotentiaries were invested
with power to agree upon terms for the admission of
Vermont to the Federal Union, to sign and ratify arti-
cles of Union and to take seats in Congress. If possible
they were to negotiate for admission without payment
of any portion of the Continental debt, the State to pay
its own obligations, but if this concession could not be
obtained, then Vermont's part of the national debt was
to be scaled down as low as possible. Later Jonas Fay
was elected as an additional member of the delegation.
A committee was appointed to consider some mode of
address relative to the injuries sustained by the people
of the Eastern and Western Unions.
The absence of some of the members from the east-
ern part of the State, and the influence of General
Washington's letter, combined to make possible the re-
linquishment of the claim of the Eastern and Western
Unions. Governor Chittenden notified General Wash-
ington, on March 16, 1782, that his advice had been
followed in regard to the New York and New Hamp-
374 HISTORY OF VERMONT
shire districts annexed, adding: "The glory of Amer-
ica is our glory, and with our country we mean to live
or die, as her fate shall be."
On April 1, the Vermont delegation notified Congress
that the State had complied with the conditions laid down
and expressed the assurance that no obstacle remained
to admission into the Federal Union. But Congress
was in a different mood from that which prompted the
passage of the resolutions of August 7 and August 20,
only a few months earlier. The whole question of the
merits of the Vermont controversy seems to have been
overshadowed by that of the jurisdiction over Western
lands, claimed by several of the States. Members of
Congress at this early period seem to have played
politics as diligently as their successors. Vermont had
taken the suggestions of Congress in good faith and
had relinquished her claims to territory on her eastern
and western borders in which many of the inhabitants
preferred the rule of the new commonwealth. Now her
delegates found Congress unwilling to agree upon a
date when a vote should be taken on a motion to admit
Vermont to the Union. New York had relinquished to
the United States her claims to Western lands, a flimsy
claim to be sure, which, according to James Madison,
"was tenable neither by force nor by right," but the
cession had strengthened her position.
On April 19, the Vermont delegates notified Congress
of their disappointment at the unexpected delay and the
belief that the situation in which Congress had left the
business of their mission rendered their presence at that
time unnecessary. Mr. Madison, in observations writ-
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 375
ten on May 1, 1782, declared that the two great objects
which were predominant in Congressional politics at
that time were Vermont and the Western territory.
The Eastern States with the exception of New Hamp-
shire favored the admission of Vermont to the Union,
he said, on account of an ancient prejudice against New
York; because citizens of those States were interested in
Vermont lands; but principally for the reason that the
new State would strengthen the East in Congress.
New Hampshire having recovered her territory was in-
different in regard to statehood. Pennsylvania and
Maryland favored Vermont because they hoped the
opposition to claims to Western territory might be
strengthened. New Jersey, Delaware and Rhode Island
by their support expected to strengthen the interests of
the small States.
The four Southern States of Virginia, North Caro-
lina, South Carolina and Georgia opposed the admission
of Vermont on account of habitual jealousy of a pre-
dominance of Eastern interests ; the opposition to West-
ern claims expected from Vermont; the inexpediency
of admitting such a small State to an equal rate in de-
ciding peace terms; and the influence of the example on
the possible dismemberment of other States. The
Western claims were advanced particularly by Virginia,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and New
York. The hostility of New York, of course, was
based upon other reasons than those that influenced the
Southern States.
The Legislature of New York, in April, 1782,
evidently considered it wise to adopt a more conciliatory
376 HISTORY OF VERMONT
policy toward Vermont than that hitherto pursued, and
acts were passed pardoning all treasons, felonies and
conspiracies committed against the sovereignty of New
York. Another act "for quieting the minds of the in-
habitants of the northeastern parts," declared legal and
valid all grants made by New Hampshire in what is now
Vermont, even though no quit rent had been paid them ;
and grants made by Vermont, not previously granted by
New York authority, were confirmed. Improvements
made on land in this district, not granted by any colony,
were also confirmed.
Early in September, 1782, Vermont troops under
command of Ethan Allen suppressed an uprising in
Guilford against the authority of Vermont. The mat-
ter was reported to Congress by Governor Clinton, who
wrote a private note to the New York delegates, saying:
"I feel the honor of the State and myself hurt that my
repeated applications to them (Congress) for a decision
of the controversy have been not only ineffectual but
even unnoticed." Charles Phelps, one of the New
York adherents, who had been arrested by Vermont offi-
cers, escaped and later presented his grievances to a com-
mittee of Congress and petitioned that body for aid in
securing his property that had been confiscated.
On November 5, 1782, Congress considered the report
of a committee, made in April, declaring that Vermont
having complied with the requirements laid down, the
conditional promise and engagement of Congress, recog-
nizing the sovereignty and independence of the State,
"is thereby become absolute and necessary to be per-
formed," concluding with a formal recognition of inde-
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 377
pendence and provision for the admission of the State
into the Federation. The report of a committee to
which was referred papers relative to the Guilford dis-
turbance was also presented and debated. A motion to
postpone consideration of the latter report in order to
consider the former was defeated by a substantial
majority. About a week later a resolution recommend-
ing that New York revoke all civil and military commis-
sions issued to persons "residing in the district called
Vermont," issued the preceding May, was defeated,
Rhode Island voting for it, New York, Maryland, North
Carolina, South Carolina, Delaware and New Hamp-
shire voting against it, and Massachusetts and New
Jersey not being counted. A motion to commit a reso-
lution recommending that the Vermont authorities
"make full and ample satisfaction" to certain New
York adherents who had been punished by them, was
lost.
A resolution was offered on December 5 by Mr.
McKean of Delaware, seconded by Alexander Hamilton
of New York, referring to the Guilford disturbance, de-
claring in substance that the acts and proceedings of
the Vermont authorities were "highly derogatory to the
authority of the United States and dangerous to the
confederacy, (and) require the immediate and decided
interposition of Congress for the protection and relief
of such as have suffered by them, and for preserving
peace in the said district until a decision shall be had
of the controversy, relative to the jurisdiction of the
same." The people of Vermont were required without
delay to make restitution to the New York partisans who
378 HISTORY OF VERMONT
had been banished from Guilford, and whose property
had been confiscated. To this was added a threat,
"That the United States will take effectual measures to
enforce a compliance with the aforesaid resolutions in
case the same shall be disobeyed by the people of the
said district," and an order that a copy of the resolutions
be transmitted "to Thomas Chittenden, Esq., of Ben-
nington in the district aforesaid, to be communicated to
the people thereof." These resolutions were adopted
by a vote of seven of the thirteen States, New Hamp-
shire, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia,
North Carolina and South Carolina voting in the
affirmative, Rhode Island and New Jersey voting in the
negative, and Massachusetts and Maryland, each cast-
ing one affirmative vote, not being counted.
In transmitting to Governor Clinton the resolutions
adopted by Congress, the New York delegates, William
Floyd and Alexander Hamilton, warned him that abso-
lute reliance could not be placed on the coercive clause
if the employment of force should be required. The
principal advantage to be expected was a more friendly
attitude toward New York, which might "induce Con-
gress the more readily to adopt some moderate medi-
cine." It was recommended that everything possible
be done to conciliate the inhabitants of the Grants, and
attention was called to the fact that a considerable part
of the army was interested in lands granted by Ver-
mont. In a reply to this letter Governor Clinton in-
formed Alexander Hamilton that he feared some mem-
bers of Congress were giving the Vermont authorities
secret assurances that that body would not adopt coer-
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 379
cive measures against them, and he thought it possible
that this conduct might in some measure nulUfy the
good effect of the resolutions.
Vermont did not permit the resolutions adopted by-
Congress to go unchallenged. Early in January, 1783,
the Council directed Ira Allen and Thomas Tolman to
prepare a remonstrance. This document referred to
the implied promise of Congress to recognize the inde-
pendence of Vermont, protested against interference in
the internal affairs of the State, and asserted that "Con-
gress has been so mutable in their resolutions respect-
ing Vermont that it is impossible to know on what
ground to find them, or what they design next. At
one time they guarantee to the State of New York and
New Hampshire their lands and jurisdiction to certain
described limits, leaving a place for the existence of this
State. And the next that this government hears from
them they are within those limits, controlling the in-
ternal government of the State. Again they describe
preliminaries of confederation, and when complied with
on the part of this State, they unreasonably procrasti-
nate the ratification thereof." Attention was called to
the fact that if Congress had a right to control the in-
ternal police of the State, Vermont had a right to be
heard in defence before resolutions were adopted. Mr.
Madison, in his "Papers,'' refers to the reception by
Congress of "an indecent and tart remonstrance" from
Vermont. On motion of Mr. Hamilton of New York
the remonstrance was committed. In discussing the
motion, Mr. Dyer of Connecticut declared that General
Washington was in favor of Vermont, that the principal
380 HISTORY OF VERMONT
people of New England were supporters of the new
State, and that Congress ought to rectify the error into
which it had been led.
General Washington evidently attached greater
weight to the threat of coercion in Vermont affairs than
did the members of Congress or Governor Clinton. So
serious did he consider the ] ossibility of a situation in
which the army might be called upon to invade Ver-
mont, that he addressed a letter to Joseph Jones, a
Virginia member of Congress, dated at Newburg,
N.Y., February 11, 1783.
The earnestness with which Washington wrote indi-
cated that he comprehended justly the danger involved
in attempting to coerce Vermont, and that he was deter-
mined to prevent such an invasion if possible. After
referring to the Vermont remonstrance, which he
thought might be based upon facts, although it might
omit some features less favorable than those presented,
he said: "Matters seem to be approaching too fast to
a disagreeable issue for the quiet of my mind. The
resolves on one hand and the remonstrance on the other,
unless it should be annulled by the Legislature at their
next meeting, which I do not expect, seem to leave little
room for an amicable decision.
"Affairs being thus situated, permit me to ask how
far and by what means coercion is to be extended. The
army, I presume, will be the answer to the latter. Cir-
cumstances (for there can be no determination after
blood is once drawn) alone can prescribe bounds to the
former. It has been said, but of this you can judge
better than I, that the delegates of the New England
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 381
States in Congress, or a majority of them, are willing
to admit these people into the Federal Union as an inde-
pendent and sovereign State. Be this as it may, two
things I am sure of, namely, that they have a powerful
interest in those States, and pursued very politic meas-
ures to strengthen and increase it long before I had any
knowledge of the matter, and before the tendency of it
was seen into or suspected, by granting upon very ad-
vantageous terms large tracts of land, in which, I am
sorry to find, the army in some degree have participated.
"Let me next ask, by whom is this district of country
principally settled ? And of whom is your present army
(I do not confine the question to this part of it but will
extend it to the whole) composed? The answers are
evident — New England men. It has been the opinion
of some that the appearance of force would awe these
people into submission. If the General Assembly ratify
and confirm what Mr. Chittenden and his Council have
done, I shall be of a very dififerent sentiment ; and, more-
over, that is not a trifling force that will subdue them,
even supposing they derive no aid from the enemy in
Canada; and that it would be a very arduous task in-
deed, if they should, to say nothing of a diversion which
may and doubtless would be made in their favor from
New York (by Carleton) if the war with Great Britain
should continue.
"The country is very mountainous, full of defiles, and
extremely strong. The inhabitants, for the most part,
are a hardy race, composed of that kind of people who
are best calculated for soldiers; in truth, who are sol-
diers; for many, many hundreds of them are deserters
382 HISTORY OF VERMONT
from this army, who, having acquired property there,
would be desperate in the defence of it, well knowing
that they were fighting with halters about their necks.
"It may be asked if I am acquainted with the senti-
ments of the army on the subject of this dispute. I
readily answer, No, not intimately. It is a matter of
too delicate a nature to agitate for the purpose of infor-
mation. But I have heard many officers of rank and
discernment, and have learned by indirect inquiries that
others express the utmost horror at the idea of shedding
blood in this dispute, comparing it, in its consequences,
though not in the principles, to the quarrel with Great
Britain, who thought she was only to hold up the rod
and all would be hushed. I cannot at this time under-
take to say that there would be any difficulty with the
army if it were to be ordered on this service, but I
should be exceedingly unhappy to see the experiment.
For besides the reasons before suggested, I believe there
would be a great and general unwillingness to embrue
their hands in the blood of their brethren. I have to
add that almost at the same instant a number of the
printed copies of the remonstrance were disseminated
through the army. What efifect it will have I know not.
The design is obvious."
It is evident that Washington had grave doubts
whether an army composed largely of New England
men would be willing to invade Vermont in the interest
of New York, and it is not difficult to read between the
lines an unwillingness to assist New York in subduing
Vermont by force of arms.
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 383
Congressman Jones replied soon, informing Wash-
ington that the probability of the use of force against
Vermont was very slight. He expressed the opinion
that if Vermont ceased to encroach upon other States,
avoided combinations, and patiently awaited a con-
venient time, admission to the Union would be granted
at no distant day. He admitted that Virginia had
opposed admission, not on account of hostility to Ver-
mont's claim, but rather because it was considered im-
politic to take such a step while several important ques-
tions of local concern remained unsettled.
In February, 1783, the General Assembly of Vermont
again petitioned Congress to admit the State to the
Union. Although favorable action was not taken, Con-
gress declined to grant Governor Clinton's request for
troops which might be used against Vermont.
In May, 1782, a convention of committees represent-
ing the towns of Newbury, Moretown (Bradford),
Norwich and Hartford expressed a desire to be annexed
to New Hampshire, and correspondence later that year
between President Weare of New Hampshire and Gov-
ernor Clinton of New York revived the proposal to
divide Vermont between the two States, using the
Green Mountains as a line of division. In July, 1783,
Alexander Hamilton informed Governor Clinton that
the only chance New York had to recover any part of
the revolted territory was by a compromise with New
Hampshire. At this time Hamilton was beginning to
consider the advisability of a relinquishment on the part
of New York of all claims to Vermont territory.
384 HISTORY OF VERMONT
New York endeavored from time to time, but with-
out success, to induce Congress to send troops into that
State, which should be under New York control, and
subject to orders to proceed against Vermont. In
April, 1784, Governor Chittenden warned Congress
"that Vermont does not wish to enter into a war with
the State of New York, but that she will act on the
defensive and expects that Congress and the twelve
States will observe a strict neutrality, and let the con-
tending States settle their own controversy." A con-
test of arms, however, was not to be waged.
On May 29, 1784, a committee of Congress reported
in favor of recognizing Vermont as a free, sovereign
and independent State, and making it a part of the Con-
federacy. Although a majority of the States were said
to be in favor of this resolution, it could not command
the necessary support, nine of the thirteen States. This
was the last act of the Continental Congress concerning
Vermont. About this time Jonathan Bartlett of New
Hampshire wrote to Josiah Bartlett of that State that
no determination had been reached respecting Vermont.
Some of the Southern delegates openly declared that
they would not consent to the admission of Vermont,
as it would give "a balance" to the Eastern States.
The signing of the treaty of peace with Great Britain
removed the fear of invasion from Canada which had
threatened Vermont and had been averted through the
skilful diplomacy of a few Vermont leaders. For sev-
eral years the Green Mountain Commonwealth had been
beseeching Congress for admission to the Union. With
the coming of peace the situation was changed. The
A DECADE OF DIPLOMACY 385
Confederation was bound together very loosely and
with the danger of British subjugation removed little
attention was paid to the moral suasion which was the
only influence which Congress possessed. The army
was unpaid and naturally dissatisfied. The currency
was greatly depreciated. Public treasuries were empty
and debts were long overdue, Vermont was free from
debt and was not subject to calls from Congress for
money. Taxes were low and government was not
burdensome. Land was abundant, fertile and cheap.
Settlers were flocking to the new State in large num-
bers. The procrastinating and contradictory policy of
Congress had displeased Vermonters and caused them
to lose confidence in that body.
Vermont was growing stronger and more prosperous.
The Confederation of States, beset by troubles on every
hand was growing weaker, and Vermonters were well
content with their own little republic. For a short
period Vermont was like a sturdy craft that had
weathered the fiercest storms, and now was safe in a
harbor in which she was sheltered from the tempest that
raged outside.
Chapter XXVI
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC
DURING the period immediately following the
declaration of peace with Great Britain, when
there was no central government worthy of the
name in the group of States calling itself the American
nation, the little commonwealth of Vermont was grad-
ually assuming most of the functions exercised by an
independent republic. It coined money. It established
post-offices and post-roads. It entered into negotia-
tions with a foreign power concerning trade and com-
merce. It passed acts of naturalization. It granted
public lands. It considered public acts relating to a
policy of internal improvements. And long before it
declared its independence, it had raised and supported
armed forces for the defence of the homes of its people.
Before the close of the American Revolution, in 1781,
the General Assembly passed an act providing for bills
of credit "for the purpose of carrying on the war, and
the payment of the public debts of this State, as well
as for enlarging the quantity of circulating medium."
Provision was made for issuing twenty-five thousand,
one hundred and fifty-five poimds in denominations of
three pounds, two pounds, twenty shillings or one pound,
ten shillings, five shillings, two shillings and six-penny,
one shilling and three-penny, and one shilling. These
bills were to be printed under the inspection of Matthew
Lyon, Edward Harris and Ezra Stiles. The commit-
tee to sign and number the bills consisted of John Fas-
sett, Ebenezer Walbridge and John Porter. These bills
were to be lawful tender for payment in all contracts
and executions. They were to be redeemed by the State
Treasurer by June 1, 1782, in return at the rate of six
390 HISTORY OF VERMONT
shillings for one Spanish milled dollar or its gold equiva-
lent. For the redemption of these bills, in part, a tax
of one shilling and three-pence on the pound, part in
silver, on the list of polls and ratable estates of the in-
habitants was laid to be collected the following June.
For the redemption of the remaining portion, a tax of
ten shillings on each hundred acres of land was laid,
"which vv'ill now admit of settlement on account of the
war," public rights and college lands excepted, the tax
to be paid in silver. The act justified the latter tax on
the ground that land was the great object of the war
and "received the most solid protection of any estate";
and that a large part of this landed property had paid
no part of the cost of defending it, while the blood and
treasure of the inhabitants, many of whom owned little
land, had been spent in its protection. Publication of
the act was ordered in the Vermont Gazette, the Neiv
Hampshire Gazette, one Boston newspaper, the Connec-
ticut Courant and the Massachusetts Spy. The death
penalty was provided for counterfeiters. The bills
were printed at Westminster by Spooner and Green.
The amount actually issued under the act was twenty-
four thousand, seven hundred and fifty pounds, eight
shillings, seven pence. In February, 1782, an act was
passed providing that after the first day of the follow-
ing June these bills of credit should not be legal tender.
A petition was presented to the General Assembly,
then in session at Norwich, praying for permission to
coin a quantity of copper, and on June 15 an act was
passed granting to the petitioner Reuben Harmon, Jr.,
the exclusive right to coin copper within the State for
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 391
a period of two years from July 1, 1785. The act pro-
vided that the coins should be in pieces of one-third of
an ounce, Troy weight, and provision was made for a
bond of five thousand dollars guaranteed by two good
and sufficient sureties. In October of the same year the
act was amended so that the weight of the coins was re-
duced from one-third of an ounce, or six pennyweights
and sixteen grains, to four pennyweights and fifteen
grains, as they were found "to exceed in weight the
copper coin used in the United States of America."
Harmon's mint was a small, unpainted building,
erected in the northeastern part of Rupert on Mill
Brook, a tributary of the Metfowee, or Pawlet River.
In October, 1786, Harmon again petitioned the Legisla-
ture, this time arguing that the shortness of the period
for which he was granted the right of coinage would
not permit him to indemnify himself for the sum he had
expended, and asking for an extension of time. There-
upon it was voted that he should have the exclusive right
in Vermont of coining copper money for eight years
from July 1, 1786. For the first three years he should
enjoy the privilege without cost but for the remaining
five years he was to pay the State two and one-half per
cent of the money coined.
The earlier coins bore the device of a sun rising over
forest clad mountains, with a plough in the foreground.
The legend was "Vermontensium, Res, Publica" and the
date. On the reverse of the coin was an eye radiating
to thirteen stars, with the legend "Quarta, Decima,
Stella." The coinage act of 1786 provided for a change
in both device and legend. On the obverse of the coin
392 HISTORY OF VERMONT
was the bust of a man wearing a coat of mail with a
laurel wreath on his head. The legend was an abbrevia-
tion of the words "Auctoritate Vermontensium." On
the reverse was the figure of a woman seated, repre-
senting the Genius of America. A shield was at her
side, in her right hand she held an olive branch, and in
her left, a rod. The legend was "Inde, et Lib.", an
abbreviation of Independence and Liberty. It has been
claimed by persons none too friendly to Vermont that
the bust represented King George Third of Great
Britain, but this statement, of course, is absurd. The
Vermont coinage ceased in 1788, when the adoption of
the United States Constitution by the requisite number
of States made it the supreme law of the land. The
amount of copper money coined is unknown. Accord-
ing to Rev. Edmund F. Slafter, during the period be-
tween the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the
adoption of the Constitution in 1788, Vermont took the
lead in authorizing the issue of coins. An attempt to
authorize the emission of paper currency was defeated
in October, 1786.
Another act of sovereignty exercised by Vermont
about this time was the naturalization of, or granting of
the freedom of the State, to Solomon Willard of New
Hampshire, and Hector St. John de Crevecoeur and his
three children, Frances, William and Philip. De Creve-
coeur, at this time, was the French Consul at New York
and a friend of Ethan Allen. In a letter to General
Allen, he suggested, in view of the fact that new coun-
ties and districts soon would be laid out, that the town
at the first fall of Otter Creek be called Vergennes ; and
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 393
that the town at the first falls of the VVinooski (the
site of the present village of VVinooski), be called Castri
Polis, in honor of the Minister of Marine. Other sug-
gestions were for towns called Gallipolis, Rochambeau,
Noaillesburg, Danville, Condorcet, etc., and counties of
Beauveau, Liancourt and Turgot. He also hinted at the
flattering honor of a town named St. Johnsbury, as a
personal recognition. The Legislature granted his
wish in giving the name St. Johnsbury to a town in
honor of De Crevecoeur; the name Vergennes, to com-
memorate the fame of Count de Vergennes, French
Minister for Foreign Affairs; and Danville, probably
as a tribute to Rochefoucauld, Duke D'Auville.
The first attempt to establish a postal service in Ver-
mont was an act passed by the Legislature in November,
1783, authorizing the payment of nine shillings a week
to Samuel Sherman for riding post from Bennington to
Albany, N. Y., and return each week until the next
meeting of the General Assembly in February. In
March, 1784, an act was passed establishing post-offices
at Bennington, Rutland, Brattleboro, Windsor and New-
bury; and Anthony Haswell of Bennington, one of the
publishers of the Vermont Gasette, was appointed Post-
master General by the terms of the act. The rate of
postage and the postal regulations were the same as
those provided by the United States. Owing to the
difficult route over the Green Mountains, the post rider
from Bennington to Brattleboro was allowed three
pence per mile, while the allowance for travel on the
other routes was two pence per mile. The privilege of
charging fees for the carriage of certain articles added
394 HISTORY OF VERMONT
to the post rider's compensation. The franking privi-
lege was granted to the Governor and such other per-
sons as the Legislature might designate. In March,
1787, the Postmaster General was empowered to estab-
lish a postal route from Rutland through Addison
county, and to establish post-offices in that county. In
1788 a post rider advertised a route from Clarendon to
Jericho, on the Onion (Winooski) River. In 1790 the
act granting compensation by the mile to post riders was
repealed. This service, meagre as it was, appears to
have been as good as that provided in all but the larger
towns and cities of the United States at this period.
Another of the rights of an independent government,
exercised by Vermont at this time was the negotiation
of a trade agreement with a foreign country. In
March, 1784, the Council sent to the House a bill em-
powering the Governor to settle a treaty of amity and
commerce with the powers of Europe, which was de-
feated. During the same session the House refused
to pass a bill requesting the Governor to begin a corre-
spondence with the Governor of Quebec relative to open-
ing trade relations between that province and Vermont.
In October of the same year the Council unanimously re-
solved to recommend to the General Assembly the adop-
tion of such measures as appeared most eligible "for
opening a free trade and commerce with the Province
of Quebec upon terms of reciprocity." The House
again refused to accept the recommendation of the Coun-
cil. A few days later, however, an act was passed, con-
taining a preamble declaring that many advantages
would be derived by the citizens of the State as a re-
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 395
suit of extending commerce to the Province of Quebec
and through that channel to Europe; and authorizing
the Governor and Council to appoint a commission not
to exceed three persons to go to Quebec and arrange for
"the opening a free trade" into and through the
province. Ira Allen, Joseph Fay and Jonas Fay were
appointed as members of such commission, Levi Allen
being named later in place of Joseph Fay, who resigned.
In June, 1785, Ira Allen reported to the Legislature
in session at Norwich that he had conferred with Lieu-
tenant Governor Hamilton in Quebec in March of that
year, and that, after the Council had been convened, he
was informed that the powers vested in that body were
not sufficient to permit the negotiation of a treaty of
commerce. In the meantime the exchange of the pro-
duce and manufactures of Vermont and Quebec were
permitted, peltry excepted, pending further negotiations.
In April, 1787, Lord Dorchester, Governor of Quebec,
issued a proclamation, permitting commercial inter-
course between that province and the neighboring States,
by land and inland navigation through Lake Champlain.
Free importation of ship timber, lumber, naval stores,
hemp, flax, grain, peas, beans, potatoes, live stock and
poultry was permitted. In return Vermont opened the
markets of the State to any article grown, produced or
manufactured in Canada, furs and peltry of every kind
excepted.
An ordinance of the Governor and Legislative Coun-
cil of Quebec, issued April 30, 1787, provided for the
free importation by way of Lake Champlain and the
Sorel River of leaf tobacco, and pot and pearl ashes.
396 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Pine timber was sent from the shores of Lake Cham-
plain and its tributary streams in rafts down the Sorel
to the St. Lawrence. This timber, with large quantities
of pot and pearl ashes constituted Vermont's principal
exports for several years. The export of pot and pearl
ashes became so large that early in 1791 an act was
passed providing for the appointment of inspectors, who
should brand the product and certify the quality intended
for exportation. In 1788 the terms of the act were
made broader, so that butter, cheese, honey, fresh fish,
and gold or silver coin or bullion might be imported into
Canada, but the importation of rum, spirits and copper
coin were expressly forbidden. In 1790 pig iron was
admitted into Canada, provided that every pig of iron
so imported should be marked in the molds, in legible
letters, with the word Vermont. While these acts, as
a rule, did not in so many words apply to Vermont, as
such a policy would have been a violation of the peace
treaty of 1783, the terms were so phrased that Vermont
could comply with them much more easily than any other
State.
Although a considerable measure of free trade with
Quebec was permitted, an attempt was made by Mat-
thew Lyon to establish a protective tariff policy. In
October, 1785, he petitioned the Legislature that a duty
of two pence per pound be laid on all nails brought into
the State, which would be considered sufficient en-
couragement to warrant the building of a slitting mill.
This petition was dismissed. Lyon already had been
granted the right to purchase broken cannon and mor-
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 397
tars, at Mount Independence, to be used in making bar
iron.
With wonderful foresight, Ira Allen entered into
negotiations with Canadian, and later with British
officials, relative to a ship canal to connect the St. Law-
rence River and Lake Champlain, and, although he did
not live to see a canal constructed, his sagacity is worthy
of commendation.
During the troubled years when Vermont's existence
as a State was threatened by foes within and without
her borders, an asset of undoubted value was the power
to grant public lands. That these grants were made
not infrequently in a manner which strengthened the
new State is indicated by the correspondence of public
men of that period. A study of the charters granted
shows that many Revolutionary officers received grants
of public lands.
Seven towns were granted in 1779, Bethel, Derby,
Fair Haven, Isle of Motte (Isle La Motte), Two
Heroes (North Hero and Grand Isle), Norton and
Holland. The number granted in 1780 was eighteen,
as follows : Benson, Westfield, Enosburg, Wardsboro,
Athens, Richford, Landgrove, Lincoln, Londonderry,
Coventry, Jamaica, Lyndon, Philadelphia (later annexed
to Goshen and Chittenden), Littleton (later called
Waterford), Navy (later called Charleston), Starks-
boro, Caldersburg (later called Morgan), and Mont-
gomery.
Forty-two townships were granted in 1781, more
than in any other year. They were Berkshire, Alburgh,
Random (later called Brighton), Hyde Park, Pittsfield,
398 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Williamstown, Wolcott, Wiklersburgh (later called
Barre), Washington, Braintree, Rochester, Victory,
Elmore, Greensboro, West ford, Vershire, Newark,
Calais, Brookfield, Kingston (later called Granville),
Riptown (Ripton), Woodbury, Orange, Roxbury,
Northfield, Searsburgh, Royal ton, Turnersburgh (later
called Chelsea), Minden (later called Craftsbury),
Morristown, Concord, Cambridge, Salem (later annexed
to Derby), Eden, Cabot, Rochester, Irasburgh, Medway
(later called Minden), Montpelier, Hardwick, Fletcher
and Walden.
Ten townships were granted in 1782, as follows:
Deweysbiirg (later annexed to Danville and Peachan]),
Lutterloh (later called Albany), Burke, Randolph,
Jackson's Gore (later united with a part of Ludlow as
the town of Mount Holly), Fayston, Waitsfield, Billy-
mead (later called Sutton), Canaan and Norfolk (later
annexed to Canaan).
Glover was the only township granted in 1783, and
no grant was made in 1784. Only one township,
Wheelock, was granted in 1785. In 1786 St. Johns-
bury and Danville were granted. No grants were made
in 1787 or in 1788.
Four townships were granted in 1789, Barton, Hunts-
burg (later called Franklin), Warren and Groton. The
townships granted in 1790 were Marshfield, Hopkins-
ville (later called Kirby), East Haven and Browning-
ton. One township, Bakersfield, was granted in 1791,
before the State was admitted to the Union.
In most of these grants the Governor and a few in-
fluential Vermonters were given rights or lots of land
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 399
according to the custom which prevailed when Gov-
ernor Wentworth and his relatives and associates re-
ceived land grants during the colonial period. Among
the names of the grantees may be found many Revolu-
tionary officers, public men and clergymen, residing in
other New England States.
Wolcott was named for, and granted in part to. Gen.
Oliver Wolcott of Connecticut, signer of the Declara-
tion of Independence, member of the Continental Con-
gress, soldier and Governor. Barton was granted to
Col. William Barton of Rhode Island, who captured
Sir William Prescott, the British commander; to Paul
Jones and others. Gen. John Stark was one of the
grantees of Starksboro. Jonathan Arnold, a member
of Congress from Rhole Island, was one of the grantees
of St. Johnsbury, Newark and Lyndon, the last named
town having been given the name of Mr. Arnold's son,
Lyndon. Glover was named for, and granted in part
to, Gen. John Glover, a well known Massachusetts offi-
cer. Among the grantees of Montgomery were Rev.
Ezra Stiles, seventh president of Yale College, Rev.
Jonathan Edwards, a son of the famous preacher, and
eleven other clergymen. Elmore was granted to Col.
Samuel Elmore and other Revolutionary officers, and to
certain clergymen.
Enosburg was named in honor of Gen. Roger Enos:
Deweysburg for Capt. Elijah Dewey; Alburgh and
Irasburgh for Ira Allen; the Two Heroes for Ethan
Allen. Samuel Herrick and other Revolutionary officers;
Woodbtu-y for Col. Ebenezer Wood; Norton for Jede-
diah Norton; Huntsburgh for Jonathan Hunt; Hyde
400 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Park for Jedediah Hyde; Hopkinsville for Roswell
Hopkins. Wheelock was granted to Dartmouth Col-
lege and Moor's Indian Charity School, and was named
in honor of Rev. John Wheelock, president of the
college.
The period between the declaration of peace in 1783
and the admission of Vermont to the Union in 1791,
was one of rapid growth in the Green Mountain Com-
monwealth. First settlements were made in sixty towns
and in sixty-seven others there had been development
sufficient to warrant the organization of town govern-
ments.
The towns which were settled during these years
were Bakersfield, Barre, Berlin, Braintree, Bristol,
Brunswick, Calais, Cambridge, Canaan, Charlotte,
Chelsea, Concord, Craftsbury, Danville, Duxbury,
Elmore, Essex, Fairfax, Fairfield, Ferrisburg, Fletcher,
Franklin, Georgia, Granby, Groton, Hancock, Hard-
wick, Highgate, Huntington, Hyde Park, Johnson,
Leicester, Lemington, Ludlow, Lyndon, Middlesex,
Montpelier, Moretown, Morristown, Northfield, North
Hero, Pittsfield, Roxbury, St. Albans, St. George,
St. Johnsbury, Sheldon, Sherburne, South Hero, Starks-
boro, Stockbridge, Sutton, Waitsfield, Walden, Water-
bury, Waterford, Westford, Wheelock, Williamstown
and Wolcott.
The towns in which local governments were set up
during the same period were Barnet, Benson, Berlin,
Braintree, Brandon, Bridgewater, Bridport, Brookfield,
Cabot, Cambridge, Charlotte, Chelsea, Chittenden,
Corinth, Cornwall, Danville, Essex, Fairfax, Fairfield,
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 401
Fair Haven, Ferrisburg, Fletcher, Georgia, Granville,
Greensboro, Highgate, Hinesburg, Hubbardton, Hunt-
ington, Hyde Park, Isle La Motte, Jericho, Johnson,
Leicester, Lyndon, Middlebury, Middlesex, Middletown
Springs, Milton, Montpelier, Mount Tabor, New Haven,
North Hero, Orwell, Panton, Peacham, Plymouth,
Randolph, St. Albans, St. Johnsbury, Salisbury, Shel-
burne, Shoreham, Stratton, Swanton, Tunbridge, Ver-
gennes, Vershire, Wardsboro, Washington, Waterbury,
Weybridge, Whiting, Williamstown, Williston and
Wolcott.
The principal settlements during this period were in
what are now known as Caledonia, Chittenden, Essex,
Franklin, Lamoille and Washington counties. The
organization of town governments was chiefly in Addi-
son, Chittenden, Franklin, Orange and Rutland coun-
ties. The settlement of the southern counties of the
State was well advanced before the close of the Revolu-
tion, but had hardly begun in what is now known as
Orleans county.
One of the difficult problems which the new State
was called upon to solve was how to settle equitably
the controversies over land titles. A considerable
period had elapsed between the granting of lands by
Governor Wentworth and the settlement of the town-
ships on the Grants. Land surveys had been made by
various persons, some of whom were rather careless in
the running of the lines. The State had no plan of
these surveys. There was no office in, which deeds
were recorded and no opportunity existed for an exam-
ination of land titles. Proprietors were anxious to dis-
402 HISTORY OF VERMONT
pose of their grants and were not always particular to
ascertain that the property sold was free from all claims
that might embarrass the purchaser. With overlapping
claims and a lack of clear and definite surveys, great
confusion resulted. Certain unscrupulous men made a
practice of selling lands to credulous buyers to which
they had not a shadow of a claim, never having made a
purchase. According to Daniel Chipman "a great por-
tion" of the Vermont settlers had purchased defective
titles. Thus the granting of some measure of relief
became a matter of necessity. Chipman has suggested
that after the long controversy with New York, in de-
fence of their homes, the people of the new State could
not be expected to support a government that would
deprive them of the farms they had cleared and made
productive.
Governor Chittenden recognized the peril to the
State and the justice of a demand for relief, and in
1780 he proposed to the Assembly "the making such
resolves as will in equity quiet the ancient settlers."
Already Ira Allen had been appointed Surveyor General,
an act had been passed to prevent unlawful settlement
on unappropriated lands. In 1781 the first betterment
act was passed, which permitted a settler w^ho had pur-
chased lands in good faith, to recover for the improve-
ments he had made such sum as the court might con-
sider equitable. The matter was not satisfactorily set-
tled and in 1784 another act was proposed permitting
the increased value of the land to be recovered after the
deduction of six per cent per annum on the original
value of the land. This bill failed of passage, but the
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 403
Secretary of State was directed to send printed copies
to each Town Clerk, who, "after taking the sense of their
towns," should certify the returns to the General
Assembly. At the June session in 1788, this referen-
dum vote was reported, seventy-five persons favoring
the measure and five hundred and eight opposing it.
After debate the Assembly again defeated the bill by
the close vote of twenty-nine to thirty-one. A commit-
tee was appointed to bring in another betterment bill,
two of the members being Isaac Tichenor and Nathaniel
Chipman. This bill, which Judge Chipman was instru-
mental in framing, provided that a jury might assess
the value of lands in dispute, estimating the value be-
fore and after improvements were made, the possessor
to have one-half of the increase in value of land, together
with the just value of the improvements and better-
ments. Daniel Chipman, in his "Life of Nathaniel
Chipman," asserts that this law, "perfectly novel in its
character," was adopted later by several other States.
The first Council of Censors, elected in March, 1785,
as provided by the Constitution, consisted of the follow-
ing members: Gen. Ebenezer Walbridge of Benning-
ton, Jonathan Brace of Manchester, Micah Townsend
of Brattleboro, Ebenezer Marvin of Tinmouth, Increase
Moseley of Clarendon, Col. Elijah Robinson of
Weathersfield, Joseph Marsh of Hartford, Ebenezer
Curtis of Windsor, John Sessions of Westminster,
Jonathan Hunt of Vernon, Benjamin Carpenter of Guil-
ford, Stephen Jacob of Windsor and Rev. Lewis Beebe
of Pawlet. Increase Moseley was elected president.
404 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Three sessions were held, one at Norwich in June,
1785, one at Windsor the following September and one
at Bennington in February, 1786. The repeal of vari-
ous legislative acts was recommended, some of which
were considered unconstitutional. The penalties im-
posed by certain laws were considered too severe, and
others, it was believed, failed to recognize the differ-
ence that should exist between the legislative, executive
and judicial departments.
The address of the first Council of Censors to "the
freemen of the State of Vermont," issued at Bennington
February 14, 1786, was a very frank and critical re-
view of the executive and legislative departments of the
State during the first eight years of its existence. The
alterations proposed to the Constitution were made,
according to the report, in order that the government
might be ''less expensive and more wise and energetic."
The election of persons to judicial and executive
of^ces during good behavior was not favored. It was
urged that officers of the greatest influence and impor-
tance, at stated periods should be reduced to the common
level that they might be reminded constantly "of their
political mortality."
Before criticising various departments of govern-
ment, the Council recognized the fact that with divine
aid "a few husbandmen, unexperienced in the arts of
governing, have been enabled to pilot the ship (of state)
through storms and quicksands, into the haven of inde-
pendence and safety." The executive and legislative
branches of government were censored for encroaching
each upon the other and the Legislature was charged
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 405
with assuming judicial functions. Fickleness and want
of deliberation were charged against the lawmakers.
The Council's criticism of early legislation has a very
familiar sound to modern ears and might be recognized
as applicable to many States beyond the shadow of the
Green Mountains. The report declared: "Few acts
of general concern but have undergone alterations at the
next session after the passing of them, and some of them
at many different sessions; the revised laws have been
altered, re-altered, made better, made worse, and kept
in such a fluctuating position that persons in civil com-
mission scarce know what is law or how to regulate their
conduct in the determination of causes." Reference is
made to "the dissipation of a considerable part of the
public lands in this State at so early a period that settle-
ments could not be made, and in most cases were not
stipulated to be made, before the conclusion of the war,
and at a time when actual surveys could not be per-
formed; and the public is deprived of a fund, which, if
rightly managed, would probably defray the ordinary
expenses of government. The ungranted and con-
fiscated lands seem to have been a boon conferred by
Providence for the support of our republic in its infancy,
while its subjects were unable to pay taxes ; yet the first
septenary has seen the whole, or nearly the whole of
them, squandered, and the inhabitants will have reason
to think themselves peculiarly fortunate if they yet
escape paying considerable sums on account of them."
This criticism does not seem altogether fair. The
revenue from confiscated lands had been used to bear
a considerable portion of State expenses in a time of
406 HISTORY OF VERMONT
war. Not a few of the land grants were made, appar-
ently, in order to secure friends for the new State at
a time when enemies surrounded it, and the very exist-
ence of the commonwealth was threatened. If there
had been less haste in granting lands no doubt the State
would have gained by greater deliberation. After an
emergency has passed it is very easy to show how it
might have been met more wisely. If foresight were
as common a virtue as retrospective wisdom then all
legislators might be statesmen.
A revision of the Constitution and the repeal or
amendment of twenty-one legislative acts were recom-
mended by the Council of Censors. Among the con-
stitutional changes proposed was the plan of limiting
the number of Representatives in the General Assembly
to fifty, to be elected either by districts or by county
conventions to which each town should be entitled to
one delegate, only members of the convention to be
eligible to election to the Assembly. The Vermont
Gazette, under date of March 26, 1786, printed a report
from Poultney to the effect that the inhabitants of that
town burned a copy of the proposed revision of the Con-
stitution.
A special election was held on the second Tuesday
of June, 1786, and one delegate from each town was
elected to attend a convention called at Manchester to
pass upon the constitutional changes recommended by
the Council of Censors. Newspaper reports indicate
that Governor Chittenden was not altogether pleased
with the criticisms of the Council or with some of the
changes proposed. The Convention met at Manchester
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 407
on June 29 and on July 4 the revised Constitution was
certified. The changes made were not many. The
proposal to elect members of the Legislature by districts
was defeated as were some other amendments sug-
gested. Provision was made for defining with greater
distinctness the duties of the executive, legislative and
judicial departments of government. The people "by
their legal representatives," were to have the sole right
to govern and regulate the police affairs of the State.
A qualified veto power was conferred upon the Gov-
ernor and Council. They were also given the power to
propose amendments to bills passed by the Assembly,
and if that body did not concur in these amendments
then the Governor and Council might suspend the
passage of such measures until the next session.
The period following America's declaration of peace
with Great Britain was one of great unrest in most of
the States of the Confederation. The authority of Con-
gress was little more than a shadow. Many of the sol-
diers who had won a victory for American arms had
not been paid. Private debts had been contracted on a
large scale. Hard money was seldom seen in circula-
tion. Paper currency had depreciated to such an extent
that its value was questionable. Courts had held few
sessions during the war.
Conditions in Vermont were not as serious as in most
of the thirteen States. Vermont had no State debt and
not being a member of the Union was not obligated to
pay any portion of the national debt. General condi-
tions applying to individuals were much the same in the
new commonwealth as elsewhere. The terms of many
408 HISTORY OF VERMONT
of the grants made by the State Legislature provided
that one family must be settled on each right within
three years "next after circumstances of the war would
admit of a settlement with safety." As soon as peace
was declared many settlers flocked into the new State,
a considerable number of whom, it may be assumed, were
not able to pay in full for their farms. The expenses
of the surveying and allotting of lands, the building of
houses, and all the costs incidental to the opening of a
new country, resulted in much indebtedness. This
state of affairs, together with frequent disputes over
land titles, was a fruitful source of litigation. In Ver-
mont, as in most of the American States, at this time,
there arose an outcry against the courts and the lawyers.
This discontent found expression in the Vermont
Gazette. A Bennington man, writing anonymously,
complained that more than one-half the county tax was
assessed to pay court expenses, and asked why he and
other poor farmers who owed nothing, who never had
and never expected to have a case in court, should have
to pay the costs of its sitting.
About this time, January, 1784, a convention of the
discontented was held at Wells, consisting of inhabit-
ants of that town and vicinity. Resolutions were
adopted calling for a redress of grievances, but they
were not printed in either of the Vermont newspapers,
published in 1784. A poetic summary declares:
"Then lawyers from the courts expell,
Cancel our debts and all is well —
But should they finally neglect
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 409
To take the measures we direct
Still fond of their own power and wisdom,
We'll find effectual means to twist 'em."
The feeling of discontent increased to such an extent
in Vermont that late in the summer of 1786 Governor
Chittenden felt impelled to take notice of the spirit of
unrest in an "address to the Freemen of Vermont."
The distresses occasioned by the lack of a circulating
medium he attributed in part to the devastation and
suffering caused by the war. He called attention to
the large indebtedness of the United States, in addi-
tion to the obligations incurred by the several States,
while Vermont, lacking credit, had been compelled to
pay its share of war expenses when they became due, and
consequently at this time was practically free from
debt. The State tax of Stockbridge, Mass., was seven
hundred and forty-six pounds, fifteen shillings greater
than that of Bennington, the population of these towns
being about the same.
The Governor said: "In the time of the war we were
obliged to follow the example of Joshua of old, who
commanded the sun to stand still, while he fought his
battle; we commanded our creditors to stand still while
we fought our enemies. Tho' we had no power to bor-
row money, we had power to retain what we had, and
improve it for the safety of the whole."
In his opinion too many articles grown or manufac-
tured in foreign countries had been purchased, instead
of producing flax and wool, these draining the State of
much of its ready money and most of its cattle. Law-
410 HISTORY OF VERMONT
suits had become so numerous that there was hardly
enough money in circulation to pay for entering the
actions. Much of the court business was taken up with
attempts to avoid executions, and many persons, to pre-
vent the sale of their property at auction, subjected
themselves to the expense of two or three executions for
one debt. The Governor believed that the expense of
lawsuits for the two years preceding had been nearly
equal to that of any two years of the war. He added:
"For a remedy one cries a tender act, another a bank
of money, and others, 'kill the lawyers and deputy
sheriffs'."
The remedies proposed he considered but temporary,
the most substantial relief being afforded by prudence,
industry and economy. He favored raising and manu-
facturing every article Vermont could produce which
would include, in his opinion, nineteen-twentieths of all
that was needed. He recommended that in the future
taxes should be laid on lawsuits and on all articles im-
ported into the State, absolute necessities alone excepted.
He favored a bounty on sheep and on flax and the taxa-
tion or forfeiture of lands in new townships not settled
within a proper time.
Governor Chittenden sincerely wished that some
method might be devised "to ease and quiet the people,"
without either a tender act or the issuing of paper
money. Regarding financial matters he said: "If a
small bank of money should be struck and loaned (by
the State) to those that would take it on interest, to be
paid annually, on such security and for such term as
the Assembly shall think proper, and make it a tender
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 411
on all debts on which a prosecution is or shall be com-
menced, the interest of the money and the money aris-
ing from the tax above mentioned would pay the annual
expenses of government in times of peace, and soon re-
deem the notes and orders that are out ; it would prevent
four-fifths of the lawsuits, and some part of the Sheriffs,
their deputies, part of the Constables, and all the petti-
foggers might go to work."
When the Legislature met at Rutland in October,
1786, petitions adopted at town meetings were presented
from Castleton, Clarendon, Danby, Manchester, Pawlet,
Pittsford, Tinmouth and Wallingford, Objection was
made to the needless cost of justice, and the unequal
mode of taxation. It was asked that the expenses of
government be laid upon the owners of property in pro-
portion of the true value of the property protected rather
than upon "the middling farmer and laboring man."
The session was a stormy one, the dissatisfied element
being largely represented. Two acts were passed to
meet the demands, one "making all such articles a tender
upon execution to the inhabitants of other States as
were a tender in their respective States." Another act
compelled creditors to receive specified articles in pay-
ment after the time limited in the contract. It was
agreed to ask the voters of each town on the first Tues-
day of January, 1787, to express their opinion as to
"the expediency of emitting a small bank of paper
money, in loan or otherwise, or bringing the present
tender act to the end of the next session of Assembly";
and also "upon the expediency of making any further,
and what laws upon the subject." According to Daniel
412 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Chipman this referendum was devised by Nathaniel
Chipman, Elijah Dewey, Gideon Olin, Thomas Johnson
and Lemuel Chipman to delay or defeat the adoption of
radical measures which they felt certain would increase
and prolong the sufferings of the people.
Nearly two hundred farmers from ten towns of Rut-
land county, on August 15, 1786, assembled at Rutland
during a session of the Supreme Court, held at that
place, apparently as a protest against what was con-
sidered the harrassing and confusing conduct of the
lawyers. The report of the meeting published in the
Vermont Gazette declares that the men who participated
in its deliberations "were not directly touched nor in-
fringed upon by those pickpockets (which banditti is
known by the name of attornies)." It is recorded that
"nothing of a riotous or unlawful nature took place,"
and this moderation, possibly unexpected, "gained the
thanks of the Honorable Court." Plans were made for
a county convention to be held at Middletown September
26, but no record of such a meeting is to be found in the
State newspapers. A postscript attached to the descrip-
tion of the Rutland meeting indicates that these farm-
ers were not without a press agent. It reads as follows :
"Take notice how you impose upon those who have
passed thro' the wilderness, and endured fire, famine
and the sword towards obtaining their own rights and
the liberties of mankind."
The condition of unrest that prevailed in Vermont
at this time next showed itself at Windsor, October 31,
1786, on the day set for the convening of the Court of
Common Pleas. At this time a mob consisting of about
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 413
thirty armed men, led by Benjamin Stebbins, a farmer,
and Robert Morrison, a blacksmith, both residents of
Barnard, assembled "with guns, bayonets, swords, clubs,
fifes and other warlike instruments," with the intention,
it was supposed, of preventing the opening of court.
Sherifif Benjamin Wait and State's Attorney Stephen
Jacob met these men, the riot act was read and they
were ordered to disperse. The order was obeyed and
court was opened without disturbance.
At a session of the Superior Court, held on November
14, Robert Morrison pleaded guilty to a charge of riot-
ing, and was sentenced to sufifer imprisonment for one
month, pay a fine of ten pounds and costs and secure
bonds in the sum of one hundred pounds for his good
behaviour for two years. Morrison's associates, upon
learning of the penalty imposed, assembled at the home
of Capt. Timothy Lull in Hartland, about five miles
from the Court House, to the number of forty or fifty,
with arms in their hands, planning a rescue. Hearing
of this proceeding. Captain Dart of Weathersfield
assembled his company and the Windsor militia were
called out. On the morning of November 17, Colonel
Wait, the Sheriff, with about forty men, eluded the in-
surgent guards, entered Captain Lull's house in two
divisions, and after a brief encounter, in which bayonets,
clubbed muskets and clubs were used, twenty-seven in-
surgents were captured, although the leaders escaped.
Sherifif Wait, State's Attorney Jacob and others of the
attacking force were wounded. The prisoners were
lodged in jail and on the following day were arraigned
in court. Fearing that an attempt would be made to
414 HISTORY OF VERMONT
rescue these men, six hundred soldiers were assembled
at Windsor under the command of Gen. Peter Olcott.
The insurgents, reinforced by one hundred men,
assembled again at Captain Lull's home, but learning of
the number of men guarding the court, decided that this
was no time for warlike measures, and dispersed. The
prisoners on trial were fined and placed under bonds
to keep the peace for one year.
When Rutland County Court convened on November
21, 1786, a considerable number of dissatisfied persons,
some of whom were armed with bludgeons, gathered
about the Court House. After the morning adjourn-
ment a committee waited upon the judges and presented
a petition, asking that court adjourn without day.
At the opening of the afternoon session Col. Thomas
Lee of Rutland, recently released from prison on taking
the poor debtor's oath, with one hundred followers,
rushed into the Court House, and ''in a most insolent
and riotous manner" upbraided, and threatened the
Judges for not adjourning in accordance with the re-
quest made. Judge Increase Moseley, who was pre-
siding, ordered court adjourned until the following
morning.
The mob refused to permit the Judges to depart.
Arms which had been concealed in a neighboring house
were brought, sentries were posted and the officials were
kept as prisoners for two hours. Finding that the
Judges were not easily overawed the mob permitted them
to depart. Later a committee again called on the Judges
and asked for an adjournment of court, but the members
were informed then that the honor and dignity of gov-
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 415
ernment would not permit the granting of the request.
The mob thereupon took possession of the Court House
and sent out a call for reinforcements. That evening
Sheriff Jonathan Bell sent orders to Cols. Isaac Clark,
Stephen Pearl and Lieut. Col. John Stafford to raise
the militia of Rutland county. On the following morn-
ing a sufficient force appeared to guard the court from
insult. As the militia arrived in considerable numbers
the mob considered it prudent to leave the Court House.
They remained about the building, however, all day to
the number of one hundred and fifty, making no effort
to interfere with the court. Early in the evening sev-
eral of the leaders of the mob were arrested and com-
mitted to jail, but Col. Thomas Lee escaped.
Capt. Benjamin Cooley of Pittsford, commanding a
body of insurgents, having retired to a house about a
mile distant, Capt. Noah Lee and Lieut. James Sawyer
with a party of sixteen men, were sent to arrest them.
Considerable resistance was offered and several shots
were fired. One of the soldiers was slightly wounded,
and in attempting to escape one of the insurgents suf-
fered a broken arm. Jonathan Fassett of Pittsford and
eleven others were placed on trial. All but two were
found guilty and were fined amounts ranging from six
to twenty-five pounds each, with costs, and were placed
under bonds to keep the peace.
The militia were discharged on Saturday evening,
November 25, and on Sunday morning started for their
homes. Before they had proceeded far it was reported
that two hundred malcontents were assembled at the
home of Col. James Mead in Rutland, and the court
416 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ordered the recall of the troops. Colonel Pearl posted
his forces in such a manner that the insurgents were
between two bodies of soldiers. The Regulators, as the
malcontents styled themselves, were visited by friends
of law and order and it was learned that false reports
had been circulated, charging the court with fraud and
outrageous cruelty in the treatment of prisoners.
Explanations were made with such success that many of
the Regulators joined the militia in defence of the court,
and those who were left dispersed. Quiet having been
restored, the soldiers were discharged on Monday
morning.
A sequel to this uprising appears in the action of the
General Assembly on February 28, 1787, when every
vote was cast in favor of expelling Jonathan Fassett,
leader of the mob, who had been elected a member. Fas-
sett had been a County Judge and four times had been
elected a member of the Legislature. After this re-
buke he never held any important public office. The
thanks of the General Assembly were voted to the offi-
cers and soldiers who had suppressed the insurrection.
At this session an act was passed making neat cattle,
beef, pork, sheep, wheat, rye and corn a legal tender,
the value of these commodities to be appraised by men
under oath. The result of the popular vote, or referen-
dum, ordered by the October session of the General
Assembly, was as follows:
1. Shall there be established a bank for the issue of
paper money on loan to the people? Yeas, 456; nays,
2,197.
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 417
2. Is it expedient to pass a general tender act?
Yeas, 150; nays, 881.
3. Shall the present act making articles a tender on
execution be continued? Yeas, 481 ; nays, 611.
4. Shall the act for the fulfilment of contracts in
kind after the specified time of payment is elapsed,
passed in October, 1786, be continued? Yeas, 855;
nays, 225.
At this session that portion of Vermont north of the
counties of Windsor and Rutland was divided between
Addison and Orange counties.
A letter which appeared in the Vermont Gazette
early in 1787, in support of an issue of paper money
gives a picture of the distress that prevailed, and allow-
ing something for possible exaggeration it presents a
deplorable state of afifairs. The writer declared that
money was not to be obtained by mortgages on real
estate. A landholder could obtain not more than one-
fourth the price for which his farm would have sold in
ready money before the war. The greater part of the
yeomanry were more in debt than the present value of
their estates. The produce of the farms for the past
season available for market would not more than pay the
taxes due, so that the entire earthly possessions of the
people would not extricate them from debt. In the
opinion of the writer nine-tenths of the people were
suffering from the conditions described. In certain
townships property had depreciated in value seventy-
five per cent in three years. Calls for money had in-
creased tenfold during the war and the means of obtain-
ing it had been reduced in nearly the same proportion.
418 HISTORY OF VERMONT
In some States money might be secured at four per
cent per month by depositing sufficient security. Such
was the necessity for a circulating medium that the num-
ber of neat cattle in the hands of farmers had de-
preciated thirty-three and one-third per cent and sheep,
seventy-five per cent.
In February, 1787, the Legislature passed an act fix-
ing the value of contracts based on the value of Conti-
nental money. The value of one of these paper dollars
in gold or silver ranged from par value, September 1,
1777, to a value of seventy-two Continental dollars to
one dollar in hard money, September 1, 1780. In addi-
tion to the natural depreciation due to economic condi-
tions, the paper money was easily counterfeited. Bogus
foreign coins were also issued. In the summer of 1785
a man tried at Bennington on the charge of counter-
feiting, was found guilty and was sentenced to have his
right ear cropped, to be branded in the forehead with a
letter C and to be imprisoned for life.
For several years the real standard of value was
neither the dollar nor the pound, but a bushel of wheat.
There was great discontent in Massachusetts during
the closing months of the year 1786, which manifested
itself in convention, in interference with the holding of
courts, in rioting and finally in an armed uprising. The
leader of these malcontents was Daniel Shays, who had
served as a Captain in the Revolutionary War. Ira
Allen is authority for the statement that before the in-
surgents attempted to capture the Springfield, Mass.,
Arsenal, January 25, 1787, Shays sent two of his officers
to Gen. Ethan Allen, ofifering him the command of the
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 419
revolutionary army. General Allen contemptuously re-
fused the offer and ordered the messengers to leave the
State. After the defeat of the insurgents it was re-
ported that some of them had sought shelter in Ver-
mont, and General Lincoln in command of the Massa-
chusetts troops sent an aide, Maj. Roy all Tyler, in later
years one of Vermont's most distinguished men, asking-
Governor Chittenden to aid in apprehending the rebels.
Documents from Governor Bowdoin of Massa-
chusetts, General Lincoln and Major Tyler were referred
to a committee of the Assembly and by a vote of twenty-
four to thirty-six it was recommended that the Gov-
ernor issue a proclamation which he did, on February
27 , solemnly warning all citizens not "to take arms in
support of, or engage in the service, or contribute to
the relief of the abettors and formulators of the said
rebellion." They were also commanded not to "harbor,
entertain or conceal" Daniel Shays, Luke Day, Adam
Wheeler and Eli Parsons, the principal aiders and abet-
tors of the rebellion. Apparently Governor Chittenden
did not consider it wise to deal harshly with the insur-
gents, fearing lest immigration into Vermont might be
checked.
Early in March General Lincoln was informed that
Shays, Parsons and other insurgent leaders were in the
Otter Creek region of Vermont, that their followers
were discouraged, some of them planning to return to
Massachusetts, while others were seeking settlements in
the new State. A letter from Berkshire county, Massa-
chusetts, dated February 21, 1787, said : "To encourage
emigration it is thought the Vermonters will give the
420 HISTORY OF VERMONT
rebels protection. Shays, it is said, has fixed his abode
there, whither his wife and family have gone after
him."
The Vermont Ga::;eftc reported that about one hun-
dred of the Massachusetts rebels who had been dis-
persed by the militia, assembled in convention on April
30 at the residence of Captain Galusha in Shaftsbury to
agree on measures continuing their opposition to the
authorities. The town officials, alarmed at such a gath-
ering, demanded the occasion of the meeting. The in-
surgents were informed by Judge Gideon Olin that if
they had met to petition the government of Massa-
chusetts for pardon and permission to return to their
homes, then their proceedings would be deemed highly
commendable, but if their business was to concert plans
for committing further depredations and continuing
their opposition to the State authority, then they must
disperse immediately. Their spokesman, a Colonel
Smith, declared that the time for petitioning was at an
end. Sheriff Jonas Galusha arrived for the purpose of
dispersing the company. Permission was asked for a
brief conference, following which the rebels dispersed,
proceeding to White Creek, N. Y.
Small companies of Shays' followers appeared from
time to time during the early part of the year 1787 in
various towns of southern Vermont. Several of the in-
surgent officers were dispersed at the public house of
Major Billings, in Bennington, and others were reported
in Wilmington and Pownal. About the middle of July,
Shays and two of his aides were seen in Arlington. A
little later two notorious offenders affiliated with the
Early Vermont Coins
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 421
rebels were arrested in the Onion River region on the
charge of stealing horses and other property from resi-
dents of Berkshire county. They were conducted to the
State line by the Sheriff, who delivered them to the
Massachusetts authorities.
A correspondent of the Vermont Gazette observed
that the wisdom of Vermont never was more conspicu-
ously shown than in the refusal to harbor the leaders of
Shays' Rebellion. He added that, although New York
newspapers had criticized Vermont, most of the conven-
tions of Shays' followers were held in the State of New
York. Ethan Allen wrote Col. Benjamin Simmons on
the third day of May informing him that the rebels were
attempting to form unlawful associations in Vermont,
and he declared that "this Government are taking the
most effectual measures to prevent the mischievous con-
sequences which may be consequent thereon. You may
depend that this Government are so alarmed at the pres-
ent conduct of your insurgents they will cordially con-
sult any measures with your government which may be
requisite for the mutual peace of both."
The charges made from time to time against the in-
tegrity of Ira Allen's conduct of the offices of Treasurer
and Surveyor General are of sufficient importance to
warrant more than casual mention, for two reasons,
because of his prominence as one of the founders of the
State, and, because in his defence, he summarizes impor-
tant historical facts. In September, 1786, Colonel
Allen was defeated for reelection as State Treasurer.
A few weeks earlier, in July of the same year, he had
issued a lengthy address, printed in instalments in the
two Vermont newspapers, defending his official conduct.
422 HISTORY OF VERMONT
In this statement he asserted that as early as June,
1779, he had applied to the Legislature for the appoint-
ment of auditors to settle his public accounts. For sev-
eral sessions thereafter he repeated the request without
success. In June, 1781, he called attention to the neces-
sity of a settlement with the several commissioners of
sales and sequestrations, owing to the depreciation of
Continental money. At this session Isaac Tichenor and
Nathaniel Brush were appointed Auditors. As xA.llen
was about to leave for Philadelphia as one of the agents
to Congress, he was called upon for a settlement. He
replied that he would be unable to do so until he returned.
Soon after this mission was completed he was directed
by the Governor to proceed to Skenesborough (White-
hall) with Joseph Fay to meet the British commissioners
for the exchange of prisoners. Taxes had to be made
out and only a few days remained before the October
session of the Legislature convened.
Disturbances having arisen in the "West Union,"
Colonel Allen was directed to visit this region "in order
to quiet the people." On his return, he says, "the Gov-
ernor had received information of the hostile intentions
of the General Court of New Hampshire in consequence
of which I was appointed by authority to repair to said
court, without loss of time, in order if possible, to pre-
vent a civil war, pregnant with great evils to this and
the United States of America." When he reached home
Colonel Allen was sent to Philadelphia with others to
work for Vermont's admission to the Union. When
these journeys were completed Colonel Allen put his
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 423
accounts in order and notified Messrs. Tichenor and
Brush that he was ready to wait on them, but no reply
was received. In his statement he referred with no
little indignation to assertions made in the Assembly by
Mr. Tichenor, while Colonel Allen was absent on public
business, that the Treasurer's books should be brought
into the Legislature for examination, and that the pub-
lic money was in danger of being embezzled. To the
charge that he had held several offices he replied that
he had drawn only one salary. To frequent sugges-
tions that he should receive other perquisites his replies
had been invariably, to quote his words, "That I did not
take such unwearied pains as I had in assisting to estab-
lish government here, merely for pecuniary rewards of
office; but that it was to establish freedom and to hand
down to posterity the blessings of a free government
and to secure my landed interest, in conjunction with
that of other landowners; that I was willing to con-
tribute my mite for the public good, until the independ-
ence of the State should be acknowledged by other
powers; that I should not receive more than my deben-
ture of council, or one pay."
After the reading of Colonel Allen's statement,
Major Tichenor replied that the Auditors had called for
a settlement from the Treasurer without success ; that a
request for the names of the Commissioners of Seques-
tration had been only partially complied with ; and that
the Treasurer declared that he should not account for
more money than the sums for which the Auditors could
produce receipts. Moses Robinson, however, declared
that he visited Colonel Allen with the Auditors and that
424 HISTORY OF VERMONT
he heard no such statement as that attributed by him
to the Treasurer. A certificate was presented from
Col. Matthew Lyon, saying that Jonas Fay, Colonel
Walbridge and himself in 1779 examined the Treasurer's
accounts "and found regular accounts of debt and
credit cheerfully exhibited."
After deliberation the General Assembly elected two
more Auditors, Micah Townsend and Jonathan Brace,
and provided that the results of the examination should
be made public. In a statement issued at Sunderland,
April 25, 1787, signed by Samuel Mattocks and Roswell
Hopkins, figures were given showing that instead of
having a shortage in his accounts the State owed Ira
Allen a considerable sum.
About this time Colonel Allen published in the Ver-
mont newspapers a statement concerning his work as
Surveyor General. He said that when the Legislature,
in June, 1779, first took up the matter of obtaining
charters for record, in order to regulate town lines and
locate vacant lands, embarrassing conditions were found
to exist, due to the fact that Governor Wentworth car-
ried the book of charters to Great Britain and that many
charters were deposited with New York and were not
otherwise to be found.
Reviewing the granting of charters by the State, he
said: "In September, 1779, Congress passed a resolu-
tion directing the good people of the United States not
to dispose of any more confiscated states, or to grant
any unappropriated lants. The Legislature convening
the succeeding October, and taking the resolution of
Congress into consideration, observing that Congress
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 425
was not vested with power to interfere with the internal
police of the State, much more one that was not repre-
sented, and being apprised that it was the intention of
their adversaries to cut off their finances in this way,
knowing that intestine broils were such that taxes could
not then be collected. Without money the frontiers
could not be defended or the wheels of government
kept in motion. In this situation the Legislature
assumed that power which God and nature had blessed
them with. They disposed of vacant lands for the
preservation of the commonwealth. This judicious and
determined procedure disheartened our enemies, en-
couraged and strengthened our friends, and the money
answered to their immediate purposes of government.
"In October, 1780, the Legislature convened in Ben-
nington when government matters were exceedingly
embarrassed. About one- fourth part of her citizens
opposed to her government; the States of New Hamp-
shire, Massachusetts and New York, claiming jurisdic-
tion against each other, making use of every device
human art could invent to divide and subdivide the citi-
zens of this State; Congress passing resolutions against
the State and ordering all the Continental troops, stores
and tools out of its frontiers; a powerful and enraged
army in Canada, whose object appeared to be to lay
the frontiers of this State waste, to pave the way to
wreak vengeance in Albany, &c. Some of our frontiers
were burnt by the enemy; and their hostile appearance
was such on Lake Champlain that it induced the Legis-
lature to adjourn for a short time, and many of her
members procured arms and went to the field; a short
426 HISTORY OF VERMONT
truce was settled for the exchange of prisoners; the
Legislature convened again; proceeded to grant about
fifty towns, this they were obliged to do to raise money
to pay their troops, procure stores, etc., for the next
campaign and defray the expense of government; this
mode of procuring money made the State many firm and
interested friends abroad amongst which are some of
the first characters of the United States. The Legisla-
ture at that and the preceding sessions took great care
that their grants should not interfere with former or
other grants, nevertheless at some of the succeeding
sessions grants of land were made in my absence, at other
times, countervening the principles that I recommended
and the members in general not being acquainted with
surveying did not pay that attention to these matters
which they ought to have done, both for the interest of
the States and grantees."
In October, 1782, Colonel Allen resigned the office of
Surveyor General, asserting that certain members of the
Assembly had failed to send him the charters of their
respective towns for record and that some of the grants
made by the Legislature would trespass on other town-
ships granted, owing to lack of proper surveys, he pre-
ferred not to bear the blame that would be visited upon
him for these errors. In his accounts there appear
charges for cutting roads in twenty-eight towns and for
surveying town lines and cutting roads in one hundred
and three towns. Most of these towns appearing in the
first list are found in the second.
At the election held in 1786, Ira Allen was defeated
for reelection as Treasurer. His enemies appear to
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 427
have been very active against him. In 1781 a township
was granted to Maj. Theodore Woodbridge to be known
as Woodbridge. This charter was forfeited on account
of non-payment of fees, and thereafter it was known as
"a flying grant." Ira Allen, as Surveyor General, was
directed to dispose of this and other lands in order to
raise money for carrying on the duties of his office. As
he did not dispose of the town of Woodbridge he was
compelled to pay his expenses out of his own funds.
After his defeat Allen called upon Governor Chittenden
to deliver to him the charter of this town, which he
proceeded to do. The House, meanwhile, granted this
same land to Jonathan Hunt of Vernon, against Allen's
protest. Hunt began an active campaign against Allen
and Governor Chittenden. The House passed a bill de-
claring the charter of Woodbridge null and void, the
preamble of which declared that the Governor had been
"pleased in a private manner to deliver a fraudulent in-
strument" to Allen. The Council did not concur, but
proposed a substitute measure. An investigation in
1790 showed that there had been no "fraudulent intent"
and it was found that the State owed Colonel Allen
seven hundred and ninety-one pounds on the Surveyor
General's account. As a result of the campaign against
him. Governor Chittenden failed of election in 1789.
The votes cast were divided as follows : Thomas Chit-
tenden, 1,263; Moses Robinson, 746; Samuel Safford,
478; all others, 378. No candidate having received a
clear majority, the General Assembly was called upon
to elect, when that body assembled at Westminster,
October 8, 1789. It is recorded that on the day preced-
428 HISTORY OF VERMONT
ing the meeting of the Legislature, a company of cavalry
commanded by Capt. Elisha Hawley of Windsor met
Governor Chittenden at Hartland and escorted him to
the place of meeting.
A joint assembly was held on October 9, and the re-
sult of the balloting for Governor showed that Moses
Robinson of Bennington had been elected. In announc-
ing the result Governor Chittenden declared that he was
conscious of having discharged his duty "with simplicity
and unremitted attention," and expressed a wish that his
successor might have a happy administration, for the
advancement of which he promised to exert his utmost
influence. By a vote of 76 to 12 the Assembly extended
to Governor Chittenden their "gratitude and warmest
thanks" for his services "as the supporter, guardian and
protector of their civil liberties."
Governor-elect Robinson arrived at Westminster Tues-
day afternoon, October 13. He was met and escorted into
town by a committee of two from each county. Having
b*een introduced to the Council he proceeded to the
Assembly Hall, where he accepted the office of Governor
in a speech which was not reported in the newspapers
of the period, following which the oath of office was ad-
ministered by Lieutenant Governor Marsh. Moses
Robinson was forty-five years old when he was elected
Governor. He was born in Hardwick, Mass., March
26, 1744, and came to Bennington in 1761 with his
father, Samuel Robinson, the founder of the town.
This branch of the family claimed descent from Rev.
John Robinson, pastor of the Pilgrim Fathers before
they left Holland for the New World. Moses Robin-
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 429
son had been a Colonel of militia and was with his regi-
ment at the evacuation of Ticonderoga, in 1777, was a
member of the Council of Safety and later of the Gov-
ernor's Council and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
He was reported to be a man of large wealth.
The administration of Governor Robinson was a quiet
one. The difficulty over the Surveyor General's affairs
was ended and negotiations were begun which resulted
later in a settlement of the controversy with New York.
An address to the President of the United States was
adopted but the text does not appear in public documents
or in newspapers. Possibly it may not have been
acknowledged by President Washington, owing to the
fact that Vermont had not been admitted to the Federal
Union.
The election of 1790 resulted in the choice of Thomas
Chittenden as Governor by a majority of nearly
1,300 votes, a very substantial lead, when the entire
vote was considered. Daniel Chipman, in his "Memoirs
of Thomas Chittenden," says: "The friends of Gov-
ernor Chittenden were strongly attached to him, and
being highly exasperated (at his defeat in 1789) accused
the Legislature of disregarding the voice of the people
and turning out an old and faithful public servant
against their wishes, and they succeeded in producing a
high degree of excitement among the people. The con-
sequence was that the next year Governor Chittenden
was elected by a far greater majority than that of pre-
ceding years."
The Vermont Ga.zette prints a letter in which it is
asserted that "Governor Robinson bears the loss of his
430 HISTORY OF VERMONT
chief magistracy with a fortitude which becomes the
character of a philosopher and a Christian." This is
more than can be said of many defeated candidates. In
his farewell speech Governor Robinson graciously
acquiesced in the choice of his rival, saying : "The free-
men have an undoubted right, when they see it for the
benefit of the community, to call forth their citizens
from behind the curtain of private life, and make them
their rulers, and elect others in their place." The
Assembly adopted a resolution, expressing entire satis-
faction with his administration, and wishing him happi-
ness and tranquility as he retired to private life. A
committee was appointed to meet Governor-elect Chit-
tenden and conduct his party into Castleton, where the
Legislature was in session. He appeared before the
General Assembly on October 20, the oath being admin-
istered by Chief Justice Chipman. In his inaugural ad-
dress he expressed some reluctance in assuming again
the duties of the executive office. The expectation that
Vermont soon was to be admitted to the Union of States
is found in the following extract from Governor Chit-
tenden's speech : "The appearance of this day also
evinces that our government is well established, the
minds of the people happily contented, and everything
contributes to complete our political felicity, and prepare
the way for the happy day when we shall add no small
weight to the scale, and be under the protection of a new
and glorious empire, which bids fair in a short time to
vie in power and policy with any of the European
States, which gives me more satisfaction than all the
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 431
honors in the power of this or any other State to confer
on me."
Lieutenant Governor Marsh had decHned a reelection,
and there being no choice, Peter Olcott of Norwich was
elected in joint assembly. Jonathan Arnold of St.
Johnsbury had led in the popular vote for this office and
he was elected a member of the Council to fill the
vacancy caused by Mr. Olcott's promotion.
During- the period which elapsed between the close of
the American Revolution and the beginning of President
Washington's administration, Vermont lost by death
two of her most eminent leaders, Seth Warner and Ethan
Allen. Before the war ended Colonel Warner's health
became impaired, so that he was not able to participate
actively in important military matters after the year
1777. He continued to reside at Bennington until the
summer of 1784, when the condition of his health was
such that he decided to return to his native town of
Woodbury (at an earlier period called Roxbury), Conn.
The change of climate and scene did not accomplish the
desired result. His mind was affected, and in his im-
agination he fought over his battles. Death came
December 26, 1784, when he was only forty-one years
old. He was buried with military honors, and his
funeral was attended by nearly five hundred persons. A
Avife and three children survived him. Although he had
received grants of land in several townships most of
this property had been sold for taxes, and his widow
petitioned the Vermont Legislature for aid in October,
1787, representing her condition to be destitute. A
tract of two thousand acres was granted to Colonel
432 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Warner's heirs, the location being in the western
part of Essex county. It was supposed that this land
would become valuable, as settlements increased, but
the land did not attract pioneers. It has never been
incorporated as a township but is known as Warner's
Gore, and is practically a wilderness.
As one of the early leaders of the Green Mountain
Boys, captor of Crown Point, commander of the first
regiment raised in Vermont for service in the Revolu-
tion, prominent in the invasion of Canada, where he
was able to repulse Carleton's attack at Longueil, in
command of the rear guard at the evacuation of Ticon-
deroga, commander of the American troops at the battle
of Hubbardton and Stark's associate in the battle of
Bennington, he won an enviable reputation as a cool,
sagacious officer. And all these achievements were won
before he was thirty-five years old. His Vermont home
was in the northwestern part of Bennington and the
house which he erected remained until 1858, when it
was destroyed by fire.
D. S. Boardman of Connecticut, who, as a lad, often
saw Warner, has left this description of the personal
appearance of the Vermont leader: "Colonel Warner
was of noble personal appearance; very tall, not less
than six feet two inches; large framed, but rather thin
in flesh and apparently of great bodily strength. His
features were regular, strongly molded, an indication
of mental strength, a fixedness of purpose, and yet of
much benevolent good nature, and in all respects both
commanding and pleasing." Reference is made to his
social disposition and his love of fun.
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 433
The State of Connecticut, in 1859, erected over his
grave a granite monument, twenty-one feet high. The
State of Vermont, which he helped estabUsh, did not
recognize his great services until Bennington Battle
Day, August 16, 1911, when a monument surmounted
by a statue of Colonel Warner was dedicated at Ben-
nington Center, the gift of Col. Olin Scott, of that town.
Early in the summer of 1787 Ethan Allen removed
from Sunderland to Burlington and his family followed
him in July of that year. Burlington at that time con-
sisted of a group of houses near the lake front and a few
other residences near the present site of the University
of Vermont. On July 9, 1778, soon after his return
from captivity, Allen had purchased from James Clag-
horn. Commissioner for the Sale of the 'Confiscated
Estates of Tories, one hundred and fifty acres of land
in Burlington, on the Onion ( Winooski) River, for three
hundred pounds, this being the confiscated property of
one William Marsh, a Tory. Here, in the peaceful pur-
suit of agriculture, he spent the last years of an eventful
life. In 1788 he petitioned the Legislature to incor-
porate a Society of Moral Philosophers, to be called the
Moral Philosophical Society. Allen's public papers
show evidence of wide reading and scholarly tastes. He
enjoyed the study of philosophy and gave much time
to it. In 1784 he had published his "Oracles of
Reason," which he called a "compendious system of
natural religion." In this book he expressed a belief
in an all wise God who orders the affairs of men and
governs the universe, and in the immortality of the soul,
but he rejected the doctrine of miracles, the divine in-
434 HISTORY OF VERMONT
spiration of the Bible, and the divinity of Christ. This
book aroused a storm of criticism, and its author was
called an infidel.
General Allen's first wife having died early in the
year 1783, on February 9, 1787, he took for his second
wife Mrs. Fanny Buchanan, a young widow twenty-
four years old. She was the step-daughter of Crean
Brush, the well known Tory, who was supposed to have
been influential in persuading Governor Tryon of New
York to place a price on Allen's head. This second
wooing and marriage were rather unconventional.
Mrs. Buchanan and her mother had rooms in the resi-
dence of Stephen R. Bradley at Westminster. The
Judges of the Supreme Court were accustomed to make
this place their headquarters during the sessions, and
presumably Allen had met the young widow here.
Early on the morning of February ninth he appeared at
the Bradley residence with a span of fine horses, a
sleigh and a driver. Entering the apartments of Mrs.
Buchanan he found her standing in a chair, arranging
articles on the upper shelf of a china closet. He said
to her rather abruptly, "If we are to be married now
is the time, as I am on my way to Arlington." "Very
well," replied the young woman, "but give me time to
get in my Joseph" (a riding dress). Entering the room
where the Judges were sitting Allen surprised his old
friend. Chief Justice Moses Robinson, by asking him to
perform a marriage ceremony. Mrs. Allen was a
fascinating woman, accustomed to the ways of polite
society, refined in her tastes and possessed of many
accomplishments.
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 435
On February 11, 1789, General Allen, accompanied
by a colored servant, crossed Lake Champlain on the
ice to South Hero, to visit his old friend and comrade,
Col. Ebenezer Allen, and get a load of hay. He re-
mained there over night, returning early in the morning.
The driver spoke to him several times on the return
journey, but received no answer, and when home was
reached it was found that General Allen had suffered
an apoplectic shock. He died the same day, Thursday,
February 12, 1789. His funeral was held on February
17, with military honors. Many of his comrades were
present from all parts of the State, several coming from
Bennington. The funeral procession is said to have
been "truly solemn and numerous." It consisted of a
company of artillery, firing minute guns ; a company of
infantry with trailed arms ; six field officers with drawn
swords; the body, borne by pall bearers, followed by
Governor Chittenden, a Major General and four field
officers ; the mourners ; officers of different rank, march-
ing two by two : civil magistrates and spectators. Three
volleys of musketry were fired over the grave, followed
by the discharge of three cannon. The burial was in
what is now known as Green Mount Cemetery, in Bur-
lington, a beautiful spot overlooking the Winooski
River, and in sight of the place where more than a cen-
tury later the United States Government was to estab-
lish a military post named Fort Ethan Allen. Many
years after Ethan Allen's death the State of Vermont
erected over his grave a noble monument, consisting of
a shaft forty-two feet high, on a granite base, sur-
mounted by a statue of Allen cut in Carrara marble,
436 HISTORY OF VERMONT
eight feet in height, the work of Peter Stephenson, a
Boston sculptor. The monument is surrounded by a
paling of muskets with cannon for posts. The statue
was unveiled July 4, 1873.
An imposing memorial tower of Norman design
was erected in 1905 by the Vermont Society, Sons of
the American Revolution, on Indian Rock, overlooking
Lake Champlain, the location being a part of the farm
in Burlington owned by Allen at the time of his death.
Among those attending the dedicatory exercises were
Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks and Ethan Allen
Hitchcock, a member of President Roosevelt's Cabinet
and a direct descendant of Ethan Allen. A statue of
Allen in Italian marble, executed by Larkin G. Mead, a
Vermont sculptor, has been placed in Statuary Hall, in
the Capitol at Washington, and another of Vermont
marble, the work of the same sculptor, adorns the por-
tico of the State House at Montpelier.
Ethan Allen was the father of five children by his
first marriage. One son, Joseph, died at the age of
eleven years, and two daughters, Lorain and Mary Ann,
died unmarried. Pamelia married Eleazer W. Keyes
of Burlington, but had no children. Lucy Caroline
married Hon. Samuel Hitchcock, a prominent Ver-
monter. The children of the second Mrs. Allen were
Fanny, who entered a convent in Canada and died there,
Ethan Alphonso and Hannibal Montescue. Both of
these sons were graduated from the United States Mili-
tary Academy and became officers in the regular army.
The only direct descendants of Ethan Allen who bear
THE VERMONT REPUBLIC 437
his name trace their line through Ethan Alphonso
Allen.
It would hardly be proper to assert that Ethan Allen
was the greatest of that notable group of men who
made possible the independent commonwealth of Ver-
mont, but his career is more familiar to the American
people than that of any of his associates — and it was
easily the most picturesque. While it is true that he
was not distinguished for modesty or refinement, it
should be borne in mind that the New Hampshire Grants
was not a region well suited to the cultivation of the
graces and adornments of life. The struggle for exist-
ence among these Green Mountain pioneers, from the
viewpoint of the individual, the family and the com-
monwealth, demanded stern measures and strong men;
and Ethan Allen was preeminently a strong man —
strong physically and strong mentally. He possessed
many of the qualities which, in earlier days, have made
chieftains and kings, namely, a commanding presence, a
strong right arm, great personal valor and a natural
capacity for leadership. He rendered splendid service
to the embryo commonwealth and to the cause of Ameri-
can freedom, with sword and tongue and pen.
Although he was a prisoner of war when Vermont de-
clared her independence, and died before constitutional
government was inaugurated in America, or Vermont
was admitted to the Union, yet his achievements con-
stitute a notable chapter in the early history of the
American Revolution, and his career is so closely inter-
woven with the early annals of Vermont that the one
inevitably suggests the other.
Chapter XXVII
VERMONT ADMITTED TO THE UNION
F
OLLOWING Vermont's unsuccessful attempts to
gain admission to the Union of States, which
were made soon after the declaration of peace
between America and Great Britain, a period of several
years elapsed during which the Green Mountain State
was well content to remain a separate commonwealth,
and New York did not attempt any acts of aggression.
The change in public opinion which was taking place
concerning the merits of the Vermont-New York con-
troversy is indicated in a letter written by Thomas Jef-
ferson to M. de Meusnier, January 24, 1786, in which
he said: "Nothing is decided as to Vermont. The
four northermost States wish it to be received into the
Union. The Middle and Southern States are rather
opposed to it. But the great difficulty arises with New
York, which claims that territory. In the beginning
every individual revolted at the idea of giving them up.
Congress therefore only interfered from time to time to
prevent the two parties from coming to an open rupture.
In the meantime the minds of the New Yorkers have
been familiarizing to the idea of a separation, and I think
it will not be long before they will consent to it. In that
case the Southern and Middle States will doubtless
acquiesce, and Vermont will be received into the Union."
An evidence of a change of attitude toward Vermont
was shown in the introduction of a bill in the New York
Assembly, in the spring of 1787, by Alexander Hamil-
ton, a member for the City of New York, providing for
a recognition of the independence of Vermont. The
measure provided that Vermont's jurisdiction must be
confined to the region between the Connecticut River,
442 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Lake Champlain and a line running north and south
twenty miles east of the Hudson River; that a condition
of such recognition should be joining the Union; and
that the right of citizens of New York to prosecute
claims to lands in such territory in no way should be
impaired.
In introducing the bill Mr. Hamilton spoke briefly,
referring to the dangers and difficulties which threatened
the country, and expressing apprehension concerning
the situation in Vermont. The State was, in fact, inde-
pendent, but not confederated. Vermonters were "wisely
inviting and encouraging settlers by an exemption from
taxes and availing themselves of the discontents of a
neighboring State, by turning it to the aggrandizement
of their own powers." He feared that, ^'without any
relative importance in the Union, irritated by neglect or
stimulated by revenge," they might form an alli-
ance with the British in Canada. Therefore, he argued
in favor of recognizing the independence of Vermont.
The opponents of the bill asked, and were granted, a
hearing, and Richard Harrison, an eminent attorney,
appeared in their behalf. He argued that the measure
was unconstitutional, as it would deprive the counties of
Cumberland, Charlotte and Gloucester of the representa-
tion to which they were entitled, as members of the
body politic, in the Senate and Assembly. He further
argued that the bill was impolitic, and would deprive
citizens of property without just compensation.
Mr. Hamilton replied in a lengthy and powerful argu-
ment, saying in part: "The pretensions to independ-
ence of the district of territory in question began shortly
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 443
after the commencement of the late Revokition. We
were then engaged in a war for our existence as a people,
which required the utmost exertion of our resources to
give us a chance of success. To have diverted any part
of them from this object to that of subduing the inhabit-
ants of Vermont, to have involved a domestic quarrel
which would have compelled that hardy and numerous
body of men to throw themselves into the arms of the
power with which we were then contending, instead of
joining their efforts to ours in the common cause of
American liberty, as they for a long time did, with great
advantage to it, would have been a species of frenzy,
for which there could have been no apology, and would
have endangered the fate of the Revolution more than
any one step we could have taken. * * * f\^Q peace
found the Vermonters in a state of actual independence
which they had enjoyed for several years — organized
under a regular form of government, and increased in
strength by a considerable accession of numbers. It
found this State (New York) the principal seat of the
war, exhausted by peculiar exertions and overwhelmed
in debt.
"Are we now in a situation to undertake the reduction
of Vermont; or are we likely speedily to be in such a
situation? Where are our resources, where our public
credit, to enable us to carry on an offensive war?
^ *i* 'I*
"The population of Vermont will not be rated too
high, if stated at nearly one-half that of New York.*
♦According to the first census the population of Vermont was
about one-fourth that of New York.
444 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Can any reasonable man suppose that New York, with
the load of debt the Revolution has left upon it, and
under a popular government, would be able to carry on
with advantage an offensive war against a people half
as numerous as itself, in their own territory; a territory
defended as much by its natural situation as by the num-
bers and hardihood of its inhabitants? Can it be
imagined that it would be able, finally, to reduce such
a people to its obedience? The supposition would be
chimerical, and the attempt madness. * * *
"I have confined myself in my reasoning to an exam-
ination of what is practicable on the part of this State
alone. No assistance is to be expected from our neigh-
bors. Their opinion of the origin of the controversy
between this State and the people of Vermont, whether
well or ill founded, is not generally in our favor; and
it is notorious that the Eastern States have uniformly
countenanced the independence of that country. This
might suggest to us reflections that would confirm the
belief of the impracticability of destroying, and the
danger of attempting to destroy that independence.
''The scheme of coercion would ill suit even the dis-
position of our own citizens. The habits of thinking to
which the Revolution has given birth, are not adapted
to the idea of a contest for dominion over a people dis-
inclined to live under our government. And in reality,
it is not the interest of the State ever to regain dominion
over them by force. We shall do well to advert to the
nature of our government, and to the extent of this
State, according to its acknowledged limits. Are we
sure we shall be able to govern what we already possess?
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 445
Or would it be wise to wish to try the strength of our
government over a numerous body of people disaffected
to it, and compelled to submit to its authority by force.
For my part, I should regard the reunion of Vermont to
this State as one of the greatest evils that could befall
it, as a source of continual embarrassment and dis-
quietude."
Answering the argument that the bill was uncon-
stitutional, Mr. Hamilton asserted that the power of dis-
membering a State under certain circumstances was a
necessary appendage of sovereignty, and cited Spain
and Austria as illustrations of this principle. He said:
"Vermont is, in fact, severed from New York, and has
been so for years. There is no reasonable prospect of
recovering it, and the attempt would be attended with
certain and serious calamities. The Legislature have,
therefore, an undoubted right to relinquish it, and policy
dictates that it should be done."
This speech, delivered when Hamilton was thirty
years old, was characterized by his son, J. C. Hamilton,
as "among the most able fragments of his eloquence
which have been preserved." On April 11, 1787, the
bill passed the Assembly by a vote of 27 to 19, but was
defeated later in the Senate. Although the recognition
of Vermont's independence was delayed temporarily,
it was brought appreciably nearer by Hamilton's argu-
ment. Governor Clinton remained bitterly opposed to
abandoning the attempt to reduce Vermont to submis-
sion, but such powerful leaders as Alexander Hamilton,
John Jay, Gouverneur Morris and General Schuyler
recognized the folly of continuing the struggle.
446 HISTORY OF VERMONT
During the next year the Vermont question was not
agitated. By midsummer of 1788, however, a sufficient
number of States had ratified the national Constitution
to assure the success of the new government. New
Hampshire's favorable action on June 21 ensured the
adoption of that instrument, and in less than a week
thereafter the powerful States of Virginia and New
York had given their assent to ratification. Thoughtful
Americans everywhere turned their attention hopefully
to a consideration of the new governmental problems,
the successful solution of which promised deliverance
from many of the evils which had afiFected the United
States since the close of the Revolution. There were
good and urgent reasons why the controversy between
New York and Vermont should be settled. Kentucky
was pressing for admission to the Union with the con-
sent of Virginia. Even at this early period sectional
jealousies and rivalries had made their appearance and
New York recognized the need of the admission of Ver-
mont as a State to preserve the proper balance of power
for the North. More than that. New York City hoped
to become the national capital, therefore it was not
politically expedient longer to antagonize Vermont.
The people of the Green Mountain State had no ambi-
tion to remain an independent nation between two vastly
larger countries like the United States and Canada.
Vermont's future was closely linked to that of America.
Moreover, some of Vermont's wisest leaders, like
Nathaniel Chipman, looked forward with apprehension
to the possibility that the land controversy with New
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 447
York might be brought speedily into the new federal
courts, with the possibility of an adverse decision.
Early in July, 1788, several prominent Vermonters,
among them Lewis R. Morris and Gideon Olin, met at
the home of Nathaniel Chipman in Tinmouth to discuss
the general situation. It was decided that this was an
opportune time for ending the controversy wath New
York, and it was agreed that Judge Chipman should
write to Alexander Hamilton on this subject. In a
letter written on July 15, and addressed to the New York
leader, he was approached as a Federalist with the sug-
gestion that Vermont was ready with substantial
unanimity to support the Federal cause. He suggested
the possibility that Congress might be induced to com-
pensate the New York grantees out of Western lands
for their loss of Vermont holdings. He further sug-
gested that this State might make the adoption of cer-
tain amendments proposed by other States, the basis of
admission to the Union. This letter was sent by Daniel
Chipman, a younger brother of the writer, and was de-
livered to Hamilton at Poughkeepsie, where the latter
was in attendance upon the convention, which, a little
later, ratified the Constitution of the United States.
The letter was considered by Hamilton, General
Schuyler, Richard Harrison and Egbert Benson, and a
reply was promised the next morning. When Daniel
Chipman called for the letter he informed Mr. Hamilton
that Vermont Federalists were interested in the work of
the convention and asked what were the prospects of
ratification. Hamilton replied, "God only knows.
vSeveral votes have been taken in convention, and it
448 HISTORY OF VERMONT
appears that there are about two to one against us."
Then he added emphatically, "Tell them that the conven-
tion shall never rise until the Constitution is adopted."
In his reply, dated July 22, 1788, Hamilton expressed
the opinion that the time had arrived for effecting the
accession of Vermont to the Union "upon the best terms
for all concerned." As one of the first subjects for Con-
gressional deliberation would be the proposal to admit
Kentucky as a State he thought the Northern States
would "be glad to find a counterpoise in Vermont."
Security for the claims under the New York grants, in
his opinion, would be necessary. The boundary of
Vermont should conform to that heretofore marked out
by Congress. Hamilton considered it highly inexpe-
dient for Vermont to insist upon ratification of certain
amendments to the Constitution as the basis of admis-
sion, as there was opposition to practically all these pro-
posals of amendment. In closing he said: "It will be
wise to lay as little impediment as possible in the way
of your reception to the Union."
Late in September or early in October of the same
year, Hamilton replied to a second letter which he re-
ceived from Judge Chipman, dealing with the admission
of Vermont. After giving some advice in regard to
taxation, he said: "I am sorry to find that the affair
of the boundary is likely to create some embarrassment.
Men's minds everywhere out of your State are made up
and reconciled to that which has been delineated
by Congress. Any departure from it must beget new
discussions in which all the passions will have the usual
scope, and may occasion greater impediments than the
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 449
real importance of the thing would justify. If, how-
ever, the further claim you state cannot be gotten over
with you, I would still wish to see the experiment made,
though with this clog; because I have it very much at
heart that you should become a member of the Con-
federacy. It is, however, not to be inferred that the
same disposition will actuate everybody. In this State
the pride of certain individuals has too long triumphed
over the public interest, and in several of the Southern
States a jealousy of Northern influence will prevent any
great zeal for increasing in the national councils the
number of Northern voters. I mention these circum-
stances (though I dare say they will have occurred to
you) to show you the necessity of moderation and
caution on your part, and the error of any sanguine cal-
culation for a disposition to receive you at any rate. A
supposition of this nature might lead to fatal mistakes."
Although the text of Judge Chipman's second letter
is not available it would appear from Hamilton's reply
that Vermont was not satisfied with the boundary which
had been proposed. The advice given seems to have
been honest and straightforward.
During the winter of 1788-89, Hamilton and Chip-
man met in Albany, and it is related that as a result of
this interview the views expressed in the correspondence
to which allusion has been made, were changed to some
extent. Daniel Chipman is authority for the statement
that at this meeting an agreement was reached concern-
ing a settlement of the long standing controversy which
was adopted later by the two States.
450 HISTORY OF VERMONT
A memorial was presented to the New York Legisla-
ture on February 13, 1789, calling attention to the
desirability of settling the controversy with Vermont
and suggesting the expediency of appointing commis-
sioners with full powers to treat of and agree to the in-
dependence of that district (Vermont) on such terms as
"may appear to them just and liberal and conducive to the
general good." The document recognized the fact that
there was no reason to expect that Vermont would be
willing to reunite with New York, and added: "From
such an event, even if it could without much difficulty
be effected, no important advantages would result to
New York." This memorial was signed by John Jay
and sixty- four others. Two weeks later, on February
27, the New York Assembly passed a bill, by a vote of
40 to 11, granting consent for the erection of Ver-
mont as a State by the Congress of the United States.
This bill, like others favorable to Vermont, was de-
feated in the Senate. Public opinion was changing,
however, and on July 6 a bill was introduced providing
for the appointment of commissioners with full power
to declare the consent of the New York Legislature to
the erection of Vermont into a State, although the name
Vermont was not used. It was further specified that
nothing in the act should give any person claiming lands
in the district mentioned right to any compensation from
New York. This bill passed both legislative branches
and it became a law on July 14. The act provided that
Robert Yates, Rufus King, Gulian Verplank, Robert R.
Livingston, Simeon DeWitt, Richard Varick and John
Lansing, Jr., should be the commissioners authorized,
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 451
and declared that the act of any four of these commis-
sioners should be "as effectual to every purpose as if the
same had been made an immediate act of the Legislature
of this State." The act was very vague, and appeared
to delegate to the commissioners legislative powers.
A copy was forwarded to Governor Chittenden by six
of the seven commissioners two days after its passage,
and correspondence with Vermont was invited. This
letter differed from others that had been received pre-
viously by Governor Chittenden in that it was addressed
to "His Excellency."
The session of the Vermont Legislature which con-
vened at Westminster in October, 1789, was called upon
to accept or reject the advances made by New York.
On the day following the retirement of Thomas Chit-
tenden from the Governorship in favor of Moses Robin-
son, by request of the House Mr. Chittenden came be-
fore that body and communicated such information as
he had received concerning Vermont's relations with
the Federal Government.
Two days later, on October 16, the Governor and
Council sitting with the House in grand committee,
voted to recommend the appointment of a committee to
treat with the New York commissioners. Following
a week's consideration, a bill was passed, on October 23,
authorizing the appointment of commissioners in the
following terms: "Whereas it is of consequence that
the line between the State of Vermont and the State of
New York be ascertained and established, and that cer-
tain obstacles to the admission of the State of Vermont
452 HISTORY OF VERMONT
into union with the United States should be removed:
Which purposes to effect,
''It is enacted by the General Assembly of the State
of Vermont, that Isaac Tichenor, Stephen R. Bradley,
Nathaniel Chipman, Elijah Paine, Ira Allen, Stephen
Jacob and Israel Smith, Esquires, be and hereby are,
appointed commissioners in behalf of this State, with
full power to them, on any four or more of them, to treat
with commissioners that now are, or hereafter may be
appointed by the State of New York, and who shall be
fully authorized and empowered by the said State of
New York, to ascertain, agree to, ratify and confirm a
jurisdictional or boundary line between the State of
New York and the State of Vermont: and to adjust
and finally determine all and every matter or thing which
in any wise obstructs a union of this State with the
United States."
There was something definite and positive in these
instructions which was lacking in the New York bill.
A clause was added giving the same power granted to
the New York commissioners, declaring that every act
or agreement of four or more of the commissioners
should be as effectual "as if the same had been an imme-
diate act of the Legislature of this State."
It was followed by this significant proviso: "Pro-
vided always. That nothing in this act shall be construed
to give the said commissioners power to lessen or
abridge the present jurisdiction of this State: or in any
wise oblige the inhabitants of the same, or any other
person or persons claiming title to lands heretofore
granted by this State, or the late province of New Hamp-
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 453
shire, to relinquish their claims under the jurisdiction
thereof: or in any wise subject the State of Vermont
to make any compensation to different persons claiming
under grants made by the late province and now State
of New York, of lands situate and being in the State
of Vermont, and within the jurisdiction of the same."
An amendment from the Council, proposing to strike
out the proviso, was rejected by a vote of 64 to
29, and later proposals of amendment, intended to
eliminate this proviso, also were defeated. Three of
the commissioners named in this act, Messrs. Tichenor,
Bradley and Paine, were elected agents to transact the
negotiations of Vermont with the Congress of the
United States for the admission of this State into the
Union.
The commissioners were numbered among the ablest
Vermonters of this time. At a later period three of
these men were Governors of the State, and five were
United States Senators.
In November the New York Commission was notified
of the passage of the bill providing for a Vermont Com-
mission and arrangements were made for a conference
in New York City. The first session was held late in
the afternoon of February 9, at the City Tavern, the
meetings continuing for several days.
Vermont insisted that the vacating of grants made
by the province of New York, where the same interfered
with grants made by the province of New Hampshire,
or, later, by the State of Vermont, should also be a sub-
ject of negotiation. New York inquired if the Vermont
Commission had power to relinquish the claims of the
454 HISTORY OF VERMONT
grantees of lands made by the new State, or to stipulate
a compensation for an extinguishment of the interfering
claims of the grantees under New York. The Ver-
mont Commission thought it had such powers, but as
it had been mutually agreed that the negotiations should
not be binding unless Vermont was admitted to the
Union, it was suggested that the exchange of views be
continued. New York thought Vermont did not have
sufficient power to deal with the matter of compensation
for the relinquishment of New York land claims. Ver-
mont came back with the suggestion that it was unneces-
sary to anticipate this difficulty until it had been deter-
mined that Vermont ought to make compensation and
the manner in which it should be made. New York
complained that in taking up the subject of vacating
certain of its land claims the Vermont commissioners
were exceeding their powers. Vermont replied that,
although not empowered to treat with individual claim-
ants in regard to the relinquishment of claims, the com-
missioners were of the opinion that they were fully
authorized to stipulate a compensation to the State of
New York for any just and reasonable extinguishment
of private claims made by that State. New York was
pressed for an answer to the question whether its com-
missioners were themselves authorized to extinguish on
any terms the claims of New York patentees which in-
terfered with grants made under the State of Vermont
and the late province of New Hampshire.
On February 13 the New York commissioners de-
clared that they did not recognize the distinction made
by the Vermont Commission between compensation to
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 455
individuals and the State of New York, and admitted
that they could not negotiate in regard to the relinquish-
ment of land patents. The discussion was ended by a
statement signed by the Vermont commissioners in
which they said: "As you decline to treat with us upon
a subject which manifestly appears to be the most
important object of the law as it respects the State of
Vermont, the treaty is at an end. We are very unhappy
that a misunderstanding of the law as to the powers
given to us should defeat the designs of the two govern-
ments."
Application was made immediately to the New York
Legislature, then in session, for the passage of a new
act. On March 6 a bill was passed giving to the com-
missioners full and direct powers to treat with Vermont.
The commissioners named in the act did not include the
names of Rufus King and Richard Varick, and in their
places Egbert Benson, Richard Sill and Melancton
Smith were appointed.
The New York members of the two commissions in-
cluded some of the most eminent men in the early his-
tory of that State. Robert Yates was a member of the
convention which formulated the United States Consti-
tution and was Chief Justice of the New York Supreme
Court, 1790-98. Rufus King was a Massachusetts
member of the Constitutional Convention. Removing
to New York, he was elected United States Senator and
later was United States Minister to Great Britain.
Robert R. Livingston was a member of the Continental
Congress, one of the committee of five which drafted the
Declaration of Independence, administered the oath of
456 HISTORY OF VERMONT
office to President Washington, was Secretary of For-
eign Affairs for the United States, 1781-83, the first
Chancellor of New York, United States Minister to
France and secured the cession of the region known as
the Louisiana Purchase. Richard Varick was Attorney
General of New York and later Mayor of the City of
New York. John Lansing, Jr., was Mayor of Albany,
member of the Continental Congress and of the Consti-
tutional Convention, Chief Justice of the New York
Supreme Court and Chancellor of the State. Simeon
DeWitt was chief of the topographical staff of Wash-
ington's army and Surveyor General of New York.
Egbert Benson was the first Attorney General of New
York, member of Congress and Judge of the Supreme
Court. The town of Benson, Vt., was named in his
honor. Melancton Smith was a member of Congress,
a Circuit Judge and a man of much prominence, who
led the forces opposing the ratification of the United
States Constitution by New York, being arrayed
against Hamilton. Governor Clinton, consistent in his
attitude of antagonism to Vermont, objected to the bill,
but in the Council of Revision was overruled by Chan-
cellor Livingston and Judges Yates and Hobart.
Preliminary negotiations were begun early in March
between the two commissions, but the discussion was
not completed and adjournment was taken to the first
Tuesday of July, 1790, at Stockbridge, Mass. A
quorum was not present at the Stockbridge meeting, as
Congress was still in session and some of the New York
commissioners were detained. It was agreed that ad-
ADMITTED TO THE UNION • 457
journnient should be taken until September, this meet-
ing to be held either in New York or Bennington.
The two commissions met in New York City on Sep-
tember 27, 1790, and on October 1 the New York com-
missioners proposed that Vermont without delay should
take the requisite means to secure admission to the
Union; that the boundary line remain in accordance
with existing conditions ; and that Vermont pay eighteen
cents per acre for lands granted by New York not pre-
viously granted by New Hampshire. Vermont consid-
ered the last condition inadmissible, and submitted a
counter proposition. It was proposed that the boundary
between the two States extend northward from the
northwest corner of Massachusetts along the western
border of the towns of Pownal, Bennington, Shaftsbury,
Arlington, Sandgate, Rupert, Pawlet, Wells and Poult-
ney to the Poultney River, following the channel to East
Bay, northward through the deepest channel of Lake
Champlain to the eastward of the Four Brother Islands,
and to the westward of Grand Isle, Long Isle and Isle
La Motte, to the forty-fifth parallel of north latitude. It
was further proposed that where New York claims
should be considered good and valid, such compensation
should be made as the Legislature of Vermont might
consider just and equitable.
The New York Commission was ready to accept the
proposed boundary, but was unwilling to leave the mat-
ter of compensation to be determined by the Legislature
of Vermont, and suggested that New York claims to
lands not granted by New Hampshire be referred to
458 HISTORY OF VERMONT
commissions appointed by the President of the United
States, or determined in some other impartial manner.
The report of the proceedings of this joint commis-
sion is not complete. At some stage of the proceedings
a proposition was made to pay New York the sum of
$30,000 for the total extinguishment of all the land
claims of that State. The Vermont commissioners
objected to this sum and suggested that it should be
optional with the Vermont Legislature to pay the sum
of $20,000 for the extinguishment of all New York
claims, or to permit the individuals to pay ten cents per
acre for such of the New York grants only as interfered
with the Vermont grants.
Finally, on October 7, an agreement was reached
which provided that the consent of New York should
be given to the admission of Vermont as a State of the
Federal Union, the boundary between the two States to
be along the line previously proposed by Vermont. If
the Vermont Legislature on or before January 1, 1792,
should declare that that State on or before June 1, 1794,
would pay to the State of New York the sum of $30,000,
the latter State would relinquish its claim to Vermont
lands. Alexander Hamilton was one of the witnesses
to the signature of the New York commissioners affixed
to the terms of the agreement.
The report of the Vermont Commission was made to
the Legislature sitting at Castleton, October 22, 1790.
Stephen R. Bradley "in a sensible and masterly manner,"
as the record says, gave a full statement in regard to the
negotiations, after which Judge Elijah Paine offered a
resolution providing that agreeable to the act of the com-
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 459
missioners, the State of Vermont would pay to the State
of New York the sum of $30,000 on or before June 1,
1794. On a yea and nay vote the resolution was
adopted on October 25 — ^92 yeas, and 12 nays — and
Israel Morey, Elijah Paine and Israel Smith were
appointed a committee to bring in a bill. This measure
carried into effect the agreement already described and
was passed October 28, 1790.
On motion of Stephen R. Bradley, the Legislature, or
grand committee, on October 22, 1790, recommended the
passage of an act calling a State convention to consider
the ratification of the Constitution of the United States.
Five days later a bill was passed calling for the election
of one delegate from each town, after the manner of the
election of members of the 'General Assembly on the
first Tuesday of the following December. These dele-
gates were directed to meet at Bennington on the first
Thursday in January. The convention met at Benning-
ton on Thursday, January 6, 1791. The official record of
this convention has not been preserved, but a full report
was printed in the Vermont Gazette. This convention
was sufficiently important to warrant the inclusion in
this chapter of the names of its members, which were
as follows:
Bennington County
Bennington, Moses Robinson; Sunderland, Timothy
Brownson; Shaftsbury, Gideon Olin; Pownal, Thomas
Jewett; Stamford, Andrew Selden; Arlington, Timothy
Todd ; Manchester, Martin Powel ; Rupert, Israel Smith ;
Dorset, John Shumway; Sandgate, Reuben Thomas.
460 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Windham County
Hinsdale (Vernon), Jonathan Hunt; Westminster,
Stephen R. Bradley; Athens, James Shafter; London-
derry, Edward Aiken; Townshend, Joshua Wood; Guil-
ford, Peter Briggs; Brattleboro, Gardiner Chandler;
Newfane, Calvin Knowlton; Whitingham, Isaac
Lyman; Putney, Daniel Jewet; Rockingham, Elijah
Lovewell; Halifax, Benjamin Henry; Dummerston,
Jason Duncan; Wilmington, Timothy Castle; Tomlin-
son (Grafton), David Palmer; Marlboro, Jonas Whit-
ney.
Rutland County
Rutland, Nathaniel Chipman; Hubbardton, James
Churchill; Orwell, Ebenezer Wilson; Danby, Daniel,
Shearman; Pittsford, Thomas Hammond; Pawlet,
Lemuel Chipman; Castleton, Noah Lee; Middletown,
Jonathan Brewster; Wells, Samuel Lathrop; Brandon,
Nathan Daniels; Sudbury, Joseph Marvin; Benson,
Asahel Smith; Fair Haven, Simeon Smith; Poultney,
William Ward; Shrewsbury, Emanuel Cass; Tinmouth,
John Spofford; Wallingford, Asahel Jackson; Chitten-
den, Samuel Harrison.
Windsor County
Springfield, Simon Stevens; Chester, Daniel Heald
Hartford, Oliver Gallup; Windsor, Benjamin Greene
Hartford, John Marsh; Cavendish, Asaph Fletcher
Bethel, Michael Flynn; Andover, Moses Warner
Weathersfield, Nathaniel Stoughton; Woodstock, Ben-
jamin Emmons; Sharon, Daniel Gilbert; Barnard, Silas
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 461
Tupper; Bridgewater, Benjamin Perkins; Pomfret,
William Perry; Royalton, Heman Durkee; Norwich,
Daniel Buck ; Rochester, Enoch Emerson.
Addison County
Addison, John Strong; Ferrisburg, Abel Thompson;
Panton, Benjamin Holcomb; Middlebury, Sanmel Mil-
ler; Monkton, John Ferguson; Bridport, John N. Ben-
net; New Haven, Oliver Pier; Vergennes, Alexander
Brush; Salisbury, Eleazer Claghorn; Leicester, John
Smith; Shoreham, Josiah Pond; Cornwall, William
Slade; Whiting, Samuel Beach.
Orange County
Fairlee, Nathaniel Niles; St. Johnsbury, Jonathan
Arnold ; Randolph, Josiah Edson ; Maidstone, John Rich ;
Guildhall, David Hopkinson; Brookfield, Daniel Kings-
bury; Williamstown, Cornelius Lynde; Tunbridge,
Elias Curtiss; Vershire, Thomas Porter; Strafford,
Peter Pennock; Bradford, John Barron; Corinth, Peter
Sloeman; Barnet, Alexander Harvey; Peacham, Wil-
liam Chamberlain; Danville, Abraham Morrill; New-
bury, Daniel Farrand; Thetford, Beriah Loomis;
Lunenburgh, Samuel Gates.
Chittenden County
Williston, Thomas Chittenden; Cambridge, John
Fassett; Colchester, Ira Allen; Georgia, John White;
Milton, Abel Waters; Charlotte, John McNeill; Essex,
Timothy Bliss; Shelburne, W. C. Harrington; New
Huntington, Amos Brownson; Johnson, Jonathan
462 HISTORY OF VERMONT
McConnel; St. Albans, Silas Hathaway; Hinesburgh,
Elisha Barber; Fairfax, Joseph Beeman; Jericho, Mar-
tin Chittenden; South Hero, Ebenezer Allen; North
Hero, Enos Wood; Burlington, Samuel Hitchcock.
The convention met at eleven o'clock, Thursday fore-
noon, January 6, presumably in the old meeting house
where sessions of the Legislature were held, and
organized by electing Thomas Chittenden president;
Moses Robinson, vice president; and Roswell Hopkins,
secretary. At the afternoon session the various acts
of Vermont and New York which related to the admis-
sion of Vermont to the Union were read, together with
the Constitution of the United States. Rules for trans-
acting business were adopted and adjournment was
taken until the following morning.
When the convention reassembled Friday morning
the Constitution was read again and Mr. Niles of Fair-
lee moved that it be taken up paragraph by paragraph.
Mr. Greene of Windsor declared that the situation of
Vermont differed in some respects from that of any
State that had joined the Union. He thought it might
be better to discuss first whether it would be expedient
or inexpedient for Vermont to enter the Federal Union.
Samuel Williams in his "History of Vermont," writing
only a few years after the events of this period had
occurred, said of this convention : "The members were
not all agreed in the expediency of being connected with
the thirteen States, and it was doubted whether a
majority of the people were for the measure. Several
members of this Convention wished to defer the consid-
eration of the question to a more distant period." He
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 463
observed, however, that a large majority of the members
were convinced that the matter could not longer be post-
poned.
When the issue was raised by the delegate from
Windsor, involving the broad question of the advantages
and disadvantages of joining the Federal Union,
Nathaniel Chipman arose in his place to advocate the
ratification of the Constitution of the United States.
He had been more active, probably, than any of his Ver-
mont contemporaries in making possible a final settle-
ment of the controversy with New York. His active
participation in the negotiations made him the logical
spokesman on this occasion, and no man in this conven-
tion, with the possible exception of Stephen R. Bradley,
was better qualified to set forth the desirability of becom-
ing one of the United States of America. Nathaniel
Chipman at this time was thirty-eight years old, and the
only Judge of the Supreme Court of Vermont who was
a lawyer. He had left Yale College near the end of his
senior year to accept a Lieutenant's commission in the
American army. Coming to Vermont in 1779, he had
distinguished himself as an attorney and as a leader in
public afifairs.
In opening the discussion Judge Chipman called atten-
tion to the fact that Vermont was small in area, "wholly
inadequate to support the dignity or to defend the rights
of sovereignty,'" and he referred to the inconveniences
which small States must endure. Continuing, he said,
in part: "Vermont, continuing independent, would not
be liable to all the inconveniences I have mentioned —
but she will be liable to many and great inconveniences.
464 HISTORY OF VERMONT
In the vicinity of, and almost encircled by, the United
States, now become great and powerful through the
means of an energetic system of government, our inter-
course with them must be on very unequal, and
frequently on very mortifying terms. Whenever our
interests clash (and clash they will at some time) with
those of the Union, it requires very little political
sagacity to foretell that every sacrifice must be made on
our part. When was it ever known that a powerful
nation sacrificed or even compromised their interest in
justice to a weak neighbor, who was unable to make
efifectual demands? and who shall be a common judge?
"There is not any prospect of an immediate war be-
tween the United States and Great Britain, but from
their mutual recriminations relative to the observance
of the late treaty, and from the retention of the frontier
posts in the hands of the British, contrary to express
stipulation, such an event is one day to be apprehended.
Should that take place, Vermont would be in a situation
much to be regretted. Our local situation with the
United States, and our connection with many of their
inhabitants — cemented by all the ties of blood and kin-
dred affection, would forbid an alliance with Great
Britain. As allies of the United States we should
experience all the resentment of an enemy, whom, by
our voluntary alliance we had made such, and to whose
depredations from our frontier situation we should be
continually exposed. And should we experience in the
United States that quick sense of the injuries we should
suifer? Would they fly to our defence with the same
alacrity, with the same national spirit, as they would de-
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 465
fend themselves, if attacked in one of their own mem-
bers? Would they attend equally to our interest as to
their own in the settlement of peace, or in finally adjust-
ing the expenditures of the war? The supposition is
highly chimerical; nor less chimerical the idea that by
observing a neutral conduct we may enjoy the blessing
of peace, while the flames of war rage on every side.
Our country, from its situation, would become a rendez-
vous and a thoroughfare to the spies of both nations.
Our citizens would frequently be tempted by both to
engage in a nefarious correspondence of that kind.
Every act of friendship or even of common courtesy, to
one party, would excite the jealousy of the other. Their
armies, to whom we should not be in a condition to re-
fuse a passage, would think themselves justified on the
very least pretext of necessity in seizing our property
for the use of their service. Thus we should equally be
misused, equally despised and equally insulted and
plundered by both.
''Again we may view this subject as it relates to the
improvement of knowledge, and liberal science. Con-
fined to the narrow limits of Vermont, genius, for want
of great occasions and great objects, will languish in
obscurity: the spirit of learning from which nations
have derived more solid glory than all heroic achieve-
ments, and individuals beyond the common lot of
humanity have been able cO contribute to the happiness
of millions, in different parts of the globe — will be con-
tracted, and busy itself in small scenes — commensurate
to the exigencies of the State, and the narrow limits of
our government. In proportion as the views are more
466 HISTORY OF VERMONT
confined — more local, the more firmly riveted on the
mind are the shackles of local and systematic prejudices;
but received into the bosom of the Union, we at once
become brethren and fellow citizens with more than three
millions of people — instead of being confined to the nar-
row limits of Vermont, we become members of an
extensive empire. * * * As an inland country,
from the encouragement given to arts and manufac-
tures, we shall receive more than a proportional ad-
vantage. And in the event of war an attack upon
us will be felt through every member of the Union:
national safety, national pride and national resentment
— a resentment, not the petulance of a tribe, but great as
the nation ofifended, will all conspire in our defence. In
a word, independent, we must ever remain little, and, I
might almost say, contemptible; but united we become
great, from the reflected greatness of the empire with
which we unite."
On Friday afternoon Mr. Emmons of Woodstock
urged that there should be no haste in considering such
weighty matters. He feared, as did others, that little
attention would be paid to the treaty with New York
if land trials should be brought before a federal court;
and, doubts had been expressed concerning the right of
New York to cede to Vermont the property of individ-
uals. Stephen R. Bradley, Israel Smith, and others
replied to Mr. Emmons, Mr. Bradley eloquently defining
the right of sovereignty in the several States.
Mr. Buck of Norwich objected to discussing the Con-
stitution paragraph by paragraph. In a lengthy speech
he opposed the ratification of the Constitution at that
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 467
time. In Vermont there was no clash of landed and
mercantile interests. The lord and the tenant were un-
known. The laws were simple and suited to the whole
people. The machinery of government was so small
that everyone could see the wheels move, and all citizens
were politicians. In his opinion Vermont must make a
sacrifice if she gave up her independence, as her interests
must yield to those of the Union. He observed that
"the blessings resulting to Vermont from her union
with an extensive empire, enumerated by the honorable
member from Rutland, though very plausible, would not
apply to the bulk of the people. Some few favorites of
fortune who, from circumstances of birth and ad-
vantages of education might consider themselves fair
candidates for some part in government, might be
animated by the magnitude of the object, and soar to the
height of science; but this number must be small, while
on the other hand, the afifairs of government being at
such a remove from the eye of the people they could
have no knowledge of their transactions, and would
naturally degenerate into a state of ignorance."
Mr. Buck feared that a powerful government would
have a tendency to destroy equality among the people
and induce evils attendant upon the courts of monarchs.
He added, "It must therefore be a grave point that Ver-
mont (taking into view the bulk of the people) must be
happier unconnected with any other power, than to be
in the Union — and nothing but necessity could warrant
her accession to the Federal Constitution; therefore if
it was possible for her to support her independence, it
was her wisdom to remain independent." He conceded
468 HISTORY OF VERMONT
that in the event of war between America and Great
Britain this would be impossible, but he thought there
was no probability of such a conflict. He also admitted
that Congress had the power so to embarrass Vermont
and hedge her up that it would be impossible for the
State to exist, but that such a course would not be for
the interest of the United States to follow. Mr. Buck
declared that Congress never had noticed Vermont, or
taken one step that indicated a wish for imion. All
that had been done was a result of New York's desire
to retain the seat of the Federal government, which was
considered by that State more important than her claim
to Vermont lands. For this reason New York, hitherto
an avowed enemy, was exerting her influence to the
utmost to bring Vermont into the Union, in order to
''add another weight to the Northern scale."
Stephen R. Bradley replied to Mr. Buck, saying that
most of the arguments advanced would apply equally
against ever adopting the Constitution. He said that
Vermont was totally incapable of supporting the rights
of sovereignty, or protecting her citizens from invasion.
If Vermont were to be treated as a sovereign State, then
Congress would be likely to withdraw all protection. If
the State belonged to the United States and refused to
adopt the Constitution, then the general government
probably would compel her to come into the Union or
dismember her among the several States. He declared
that "Vermont would enjoy a full participation of the
benefits of every seaport in the United States, a recogni-
tion of her sovereignty, protection from foreign in-
vasion, security against intestine convulsions, and the
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 469
many blessings ensured by a mild and energetic govern-
ment." Mr. Bradley was supported by Samuel Hitch-
cock, Israel Smith and others.
When the Saturday morning session opened Mr. Buck
of Norwich informed the convention that a more care-
ful examination of the United States Constitution made
the previous evening had convinced him that the power
of Congress was not as great as he had supposed and the
rights of the State were more carefully guarded, there-
fore the danger that a State might lose its sovereignty
by entering the Union was not as great as he had
imagined. He still believed, however, that it was not
wise for Vermont precipitately to seek for union.
Israel Smith replied to Mr. Buck and was followed by
Mr. Loomis of Thetford, who thought the ratification
of the Constitution would operate as a repeal of the
Vermont act for specifically fulfilling contracts. Mr.
Greene of Windsor thought there might have been an
advantage under the old Confederation in remaining
independent. Surrounded on three sides by members
of the Union, Congress could compel Vermont to join
on its own terms by prohibiting exportation to or impor-
tation from Vermont. Canada was a poor market and
soon overstocked. As no objection had been made to
the Constitution itself, but only to the expediency of its
present adoption, he was clearly of the opinion that by
immediate ratification Vermont would acquire "energy
at home and respectability abroad."
Mr. Emmons of Woodstock wished to proceed with
the utmost deliberation. As the convention was acting
for future generations, and the decisions made might
470 HISTORY OF VERMONT
affect posterity to the end of time, he desired adjourn-
ment to some future day, perhaps until the first of the
following October. He thought the people had not yet
decided that they were ready to enter the Union. They
were not familiar with the Constitution, they were still
jealous of New York, and feared "lest some trap should
be found hidden by a fair disguise." Mr. Loomis of
Thetford could see no reason for haste. America was
at peace with all nations and Vermont could not be en-
dangered by taking a few months for consideration.
He thought the people should have a better opportunity
to become acquainted with the Constitution, and to
obtain assurances that their landed property would be
secure.
Judge Chipman called attention to the fact that Ver-
mont had sought an opportunity to join the Union for
years, and he could see no reason for adjournment.
Mr. Bradley of Westminster urged immediate action.
New York might have discharged its debts and accumu-
lated wealth by means of State imports, but they had
generously relinquished these rights to the Nation. Mr.
Niles of Fairlee favored a full and fair discussion but
objected to any postponement of the subject under con-
sideration. A motion made by Mr. Bradley that a com-
mittee be appointed to draw up a suitable form of rati-
fication was carried by "a great majority." Adjourn-
ment was then taken until Monday morning.
When business was resumed on the morning of Jan-
uary 10, the committee reported a form of adoption of
the United States Constitution, which was read and de-
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 471
bated. Ira Allen proposed an amendment, which was
agreed to, and the report was adopted unanimously.
The act declared: "Every impediment to the admis-
sion of Vermont to the Union is removed in full faith
and assurance that the same will stand approved and
ratified by Congress ; this convention having impartially
deliberated upon the Constitution of the United States
of America as now established, submitted to us by an
act of the General Assembly of the State of Vermont,
passed October the twenty-seventh, One Thousand
Seven Hundred and Ninety, do in virtue of the power
and authority to us given for that purpose, fully and
entirely approve of assent to and ratify the said Consti-
tution; and declare that immediately from and after this
State shall be admitted by the Congress into the Union,
and to a full participation of the benefits of the govern-
ment now enjoyed by the States in the Union, the same
shall be binding on us and the people of the State of Ver-
mont forever."
This ratification was agreed to and signed on Jan-
uary 10 by one hundred and five out of a total of one
hundred and nine delegates. Those who did not sign
were Daniel Heald of Chester, Moses Warner of
Andover, Benjamin Perkins of Bridgewater and Enoch
Emerson of Rochester. All of these dissenters were
Windsor county men, and the reports of the convention
proceedings show that most of the arguments against
the Constitution or in favor of delay in its ratification
were made by members from that county.
The convention recommended to the Legislature that
the so-called betterment acts for quieting disputes con-
472 HISTORY OF VERMONT
cerning landed property be in no wise impeached by any
negotiations with Congress: that the tender acts be so
modified that they should be "least obnoxious to the Con-
stitution of the United States and least prejudicial to
the citizens of this and the United States," where con-
tracts were subject to these laws; and that as soon as
the State was admitted to the Union the most effectual
means should be taken to procure an equitable adjust-
ment of the expenditures of Vermont during the war
with Great Britain.
The newspapers of the period indicate that the news
of Vermont's ratification of the United States Constitu-
tion was received with expressions of joy, not only in
Vermont, but also in other States. When a message
was received in Albany, N. Y., telling of Vermont's
action, a company of artillery paraded in uniform and
fired a national salute of fourteen guns from Fort Hill,
which was followed, says a newspaper account, dated
at Albany, "by three cheerful huzzas from a number of
our most respectable citizens."
An act was passed by the Legislature on January 20,
1791, designating Nathaniel Chipman and Lewis R.
Morris as commissioners, whose duty it was to secure
the passage of the necessary acts of Congress admitting
Vermont to the Union. It appears that Noah Smith
accompanied these delegates to Philadelphia. Another
act passed at this session of the Legislature divided Ver-
mont into three Congressional districts, the first district
including Bennington and Windham counties; the
second district, Windsor and Orange counties ; the third
district, Rutland, Addison and Chittenden counties.
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 473
Anticipating the possibility that Congress might provide
for only two Representatives, the act provided that in
such an event the counties on the west side of the Green
Mountains should constitute the first district and those
on the west side, the second district.
President Washington, on February 9, 1791, sent the
following message to Congress : "I have received from
the Governor of Vermont authentic documents express-
ing the consent of the Legislatures of New York and
of the Territory of Vermont, that the said Territory
shall be admitted to be a distinct member of our Union,
and a memorial of Nathaniel Chipman and Lewis R.
Morris, commissioners from the said Territory, praying
the consent of Congress to that admission, by the name
and style of the State of Vermont; copies of which I
now lay before Congress, with whom the Constitution
has rested the object of these proceedings."
It was ordered by the Senate that the President's
message relating to Vermont, together with the accom-
panying papers, should be referred to a committee com-
posed of Senators Rufus King of New York, James
Monroe of Virginia, Oliver Ellsworth of Connecticut,
John Langdon of New Hampshire and Benjamin
Hawkins of North Carolina. On the following day,
February 10, Senator King reported a bill for the ad-
mission of Vermont into the Union and it was ordered
to a second reading. On February 11a supplementary
bill was reported, apportioning two Representatives each
to the States of Vermont and Kentucky, and by unani-
mous consent the bill was ordered to a third reading.
On February 12 the Senate passed both the bill admitting
474 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Vermont as a State of the Federal Union and the
measure providing for the election of Representatives,
A message from the House of Representatives, received
by the Senate on February 14, gave the information that
that body had passed the Vermont bill in concurrence.
The text of the act, for which Vermonters had waited
long, was brief, and read as follows: "Be it enacted
by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, and
it is hereby enacted and declared, that on the fourth day
of March, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety-
one, the said State, by the name and style of the 'State
of Vermont,' shall be received and admitted into this
Union, as a new and entire member of the United States
of America."
This act was signed by Frederick A. Muhlenbergh,
Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Adams,
Vice President of the United States, and George Wash-
ington, President of the United States. The act was
attested by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, and
the President's signature bears date of February 18,
1791. Other acts provided that until an actual enumer-
ation should be made the State should choose two Rep-
resentatives, and set in motion the machinery of
United States Government in Vermont. The last
named bill declared in substance that all the laws of the
United States not locally inapplicable, should have the
same force and effect in Vermont as elsewhere in the
Nation; that one judicial district should be established,
sessions of the United States Court to be held alternately
at Rutland and Windsor, beginning the first Monday of
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 475
the following May; that this district should be annexed
to the eastern circuit, sessions to be held at Bennington
beginning June 17, 1791; that the enumeration of the
inhabitants should begin the first Monday of April, 1791,
and close within five months thereafter; that the act pro-
viding for the collection of duties on imports and on the
tonnage of ships should be carried into effect in Ver-
mont; that there should be one customs district and one
port of entry, at Alburg, on Lake Champlain. The an-
nual salary of the United States Judge was fixed at eight
hundred dollars and the compensation of the United
States Marshal was two hundred dollars.
A letter from Judge Chipman to Governor Chittenden
says: ''In the prosecution of our mission we experi-
enced every possible attention and friendly assistance."
He called attention to the fact that the act of Congress
admitting Vermont acknowledged that it was a State
already formed and this admission conceded the right of
sovereignty. Such a right, independent of union with
the United States, in the opinion of the writer, clearly
secured the property of Vermonters, as a sovereign
State possessed the right to make grants of land. It is
evident that Kentucky made an earnest efifort to be ad-
mitted as the fourteenth State and the partisans of that
district were displeased at the delay. At one time it
seemed probable that Vermont and Kentucky might
come into the Union together.
The admission of Vermont to the Union was observed
at Rutland on March 8 by a celebration in the town
square. The Federal standard was hoisted at six
o'clock in the morning, the flag bearing fifteen stripes
476 HISTORY OF VERMONT
and fifteen stars, including one each for Vermont and
Kentucky, although the latter State was not formally
admitted until June 1, 1792. In the afternoon a large
number of citizens assembled at Williams' Inn, includ-
ing the Judges of the Supreme Court, the Attorney
General, the clergy of the vicinity and citizens of Ver-
mont and neighboring States. After what was de-
scribed as "an economical collation," fifteen cannon were
fired by a volunteer corps of artillery, and the following
toasts were drunk: "The President"; "The Vice
President and Congress"; "The Allies of the United
States"; "The State of New York"; "His Excellency,^
Governor Chittenden"; "The Union of Vermont with
the United States — May It Flourish Like Our Pines and
Continue Unshaken as Our Mountains" ; "May the New
States Soon Rival the Old in Federal Virtues"; "May
the Federal Officers of the District of Vermont Act with
Integrity and Merit the Confidence of the People";
"May the Patriotism of America Secure It from
Venality"; "The Union of States, Interests and Hearts";
"Arts, Sciences, Manufactures and Agriculture";
"The Clergy, May They Dispel the Clouds of Ignorance
and Superstition"; "The Memorable 16th of August, on
Which Was Fought the Glorious Battle of Bennington";
"The Conjugal Union and Rising Generation"; "May
We Never Experience a Less Happy Moment than the
Present under the Federal Government."
The following song, composed for the occasion, was
sung, led by a select choir of singers, to the tune,
"Washington's Birthday":
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 477
Come every Federal son,
Let each Vermonter come,
And take his glass,
Long live great Washington,
Glory's immortal son;
Bright as the rolling sun.
O'er us doth pass.
Hail, hail this happy day.
When we allegiance pay,
T'our Federal head.
Bright in these western skies,
Shall our new star arise.
Striking our enemies
With fear and dread.
Come each Green Mountain Boy,
Swell every breast with joy,
Hail our good land.
As our pines climb the air,
Firm as our mountains are,
Federal beyond compare.
Proudly we stand.
Fill, fill your bumpers high,
Let the notes rend the sky.
Free we'll remain.
By that immortal crown
Of Glory and renown,
AVhich our brave heroes won
On blood stain'd plain.
478 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Then come, join hand in hand
Like a firm Federal band,
Bound by our (one) law,
From our firm union springs,
Blessings unknown to kings.
Then each shout as he sings,
Federal huzza.
Following the song this toast was drunk: "May the
Vermonters Become as Eminent in the Arts of Peace
as They Have Been Glorious in Those of War." The
festival was concluded "with continued demonstrations
of joy," which included a ball in the evening.
The first United States officers in Vermont were
appointed by President Washington, as follows : Super-
visor of Excise and Impost (Collector of Internal Reve-
nue), Noah Smith of Bennington; Judge of the District
of Vermont, Nathaniel Chipman of Rutland; District
Attorney, Stephen Jacob of Windsor; Marshal, Lewis
R. Morris of Springfield; Collector of the Port of
Alburg, Stephen Keyes of Burlington.
Noah Smith was a native of Suffield, Conn., and a
graduate of Yale College in the class of 1778. Among
his classmates were Stephen Jacob, Noah Webster, the
lexicographer, and Gov. Oliver Wolcott. Immediately
after graduation he came to Vermont, settling at Ben-
nington, He had been State's Attorney and Clerk of
Bennington County Court, and Judge of the Supreme
Court. Stephen Jacob, a native of Sheffield, Mass.,
came to Bennington with Noah Smith, his classmate at
Yale, in 1778, but removed to Windsor in 1780. He
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 479
had been a member of the Council of Censors and was
one of the commissioners who settled the controversy
between Vermont and New York. Lewis R. Morris
was a native of New York, who settled in Springfield in
1786. He was a member of the convention that ratified
the United States Constitution and one of the commis-
sioners sent to Congress to negotiate for the admission
of Vermont as a State in the Union.
An election had been held for United States Senator
on January 19, 1791. The Council had nominated
Moses Robinson of Bennington and Nathaniel Niles of
West Fairlee. Later in the day the Governor and Coun-
cil met the House in grand committee, when Moses Rob-
inson and Stephen R. Bradley of Westminster, were de-
clared elected. As this election was held several weeks
before Vermont was actually admitted to the Union,
some doubt seems to have arisen regarding the legality of
the proceedings. On October 10, 1791, Moses Robinson
addressed letters to Governor Chittenden and Speaker
Olin, calling attention to the suggestion that had been
made to the efifect that the election was premature, and
urging a speedy decision of the matter, as Congress was
to meet the latter part of the month. One of these
letters was read in the House on October 15, and on
motion of Matthew Lyon of Fair Haven, the election
was declared premature. Both Houses met in grand
committee and after an extended debate, the vote of the
House was sustained and a new election was ordered on
October 17. On the morning of that day Stephen R.
Bradley appeared on the floor of the House and resigned
his credentials as United States Senator into the hands
480 HISTORY OF VERMONT
of the Secretary of State. In the afternoon Moses
Robinson was elected first Senator and Stephen R.
Bradley, second Senator.
The names of the unsuccessful candidates are not
given in the official records or in the Vermont news-
papers. The only hint is found in a copy of a humorous
handbill, posted in Windsor on the day preceding the
election and reproduced in the Vermont Journal of
October 18, 1791, which characterized the election as
''Federal Racing." It is given herewith, the matter in
parentheses being supplied by E. P. Walton in "Gov-
ernor and Council": "Eastern Racers — The Past-
Time (Stephen R. Bradley), Peacock (possibly Elijah
Paine), Pretty Town Horse, Old Roger (Roger Enos),
Narragansett Pacer (Jonathan Arnold), Connecticut
Blue (Nathaniel Niles). Western Racers — The Old
Script (Moses Robinson), Jersey Sleek (Isaac Tiche-
nor), Figure, Bold Sweeper (probably Matthew Lyon),
Northern Ranger (probably Samuel Hitchcock)." In
the Senate Mr. Bradley drew the four-year term and
Mr. Robinson the full term of six years.
Stephen Row Bradley was born at Wallingford (later
known as Cheshire), Conn., February 20, 1754, being
the son of Moses and Mary (Row) Bradley, and a
grandson of Stephen Bradley, who emigrated to
America in 1637, after serving as a member of Crom-
well's Ironsides. Stephen R. Bradley was graduated
from Yale College in 1775, and early in 1776 entered the
American army as a Captain of volunteers. Later he
served as Quartermaster and as aide on the stafif of Gen-
eral Wooster. In 1779 he came to Vermont and began
1*0 -'•-J A ^ ^i
Map Prepared by James Whitelaw, Surveyor General of Vermont
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 481
to practice law. The first admissions to the State
bar were Stephen R. Bradley and Noah Smith, at West-
minster, May 26, 1779. About this time he prepared
"Vermont's Appeal to a Candid and Impartial World,"
one of the ablest presentations ever made of Vermont's
case against the enemies that sought to gain sovereignty
over her territory. In June, 1780, he was appointed
State's Attorney for Cumberland county. He had been
one of the agents appointed to present the claims of Ver-
mont to the Continental Congress. He was Clerk of
the House in 1779, member of the House in 1780, 1781,
1784, 1785, 1788 and 1790 and in 1785 was Speaker.
In 1783 he was Judge of the County Court, from 1788
to 1789 Judge of the Supreme Court, and Register of
Probate, from 1781 to 1791. He Vv^as a Colonel of Ver-
mont militia, served on the staff of Gen. Ethan Allen,
and in 1791 was elected a Brigadier General. He was a
man of popular manners and keen insight. His son-in-
law, S. G. Goodrich (Peter Parley), says General Brad-
ley "was distinguished for political sagacity, a ready wit
and boundless stores of anecdotes."
Under date of August 1, the Vermont Gazette an-
nounced that Nathaniel Niles had been elected Repre-
sentative from the Eastern district by a majority of one
hundred and fifty votes. The names of his competitors
were not given. The first member of Congress elected
was one of the most versatile men ever in the service of
the State. Born in South Kingston, R. I., in 1741, he
began a collegiate course at Harvard, graduating at
Princeton. He studied theology, law and medicine;
taught school in New York City; preached at Norwich
482 HISTORY OF VERMONT
and Torrington, Conn.; engaged in mechanical experi-
ments, inventing a process of making wire from iron,
and building a woolen card manufactory at Norwich,
Conn. He ardently supported the American cause in
the Revolutionary War, and in 1776 wrote an ode,
entitled ''The American Hero," which was used as a war
song by New England soldiers. Emigrating to Ver-
mont, he settled in Fairlee, where he preached in his own
house every Sunday for twelve years. He soon became
active in public affairs. It is very interesting to note
that several clergymen held important political offices
during the early period of Vermont history. Niles was
elected a member of the Legislature in 1784 and was
chosen Speaker. During the same year he was
appointed one of the agents sent by Vermont to transact
business with Congress. He was a member of the Ver-
mont Supreme Court, 1784-88; a member of the Council,
1785-87; and was a member of the Convention which
ratified the United States Constitution, being one of the
leaders in advocating union with the United States. He
served in Congress for four years. After retiring from
Congress he served several terms in the Legislature, was
a member of the Council of Censors and served in the
Constitutional Convention of 1814. In this convention
he was chairman of the committee that reported ad-
versely upon the amendment proposed by Pennsylvania
and Tennessee to reduce the term of United States Sena-
tors from six to four years. He strongly opposed
slavery and was one of the leaders in the Legislature
in refusing to send delegates to the Hartford Conven-
tion, which opposed the War of 1812. In politics he
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 483
was an anti-Federalist, or Jeffersonian Republican, like
his colleagues. Senators Robinson and Bradley.
In the Western district no candidate received a ma-
jority of the votes cast and there was no election.
Matthew Lyon of Fair Haven led, with 597 votes; Israel
Smith of Rutland had 573; and Isaac Tichenor of Ben-
nington, 473. The letters which appeared in the Ver-
mont Gazette show that Lyon posed as the foe of aris-
tocracy and intimated that the lawyers and genteel
people were his opponents. Another letter conveys the
impression that Tichenor had withdrawn from the
second contest for Representative in the interest of
Israel Smith, to purchase the influence of "brother
Noah," perhaps Noah Smith, "brother Nat," probably
Nathaniel Chipman, and others to place him in the
Senate and "oust old Moses," meaning Moses Robinson.
Later Mr. Tichenor wrote a letter to the Gazette an-
nouncing that he would not be a candidate for the special
Congressional election, denying "the base insinuations"
of an anonymous writer, and hinting that Lyon had
been writing letters, dialogues, etc., to help himself.
The Gazette of September 26 announced that Israel
Smith had been elected, the vote being, Smith, 2,588;
Lyon, \,\\2; Tichenor, 85. Lyon published a letter a
column in length, thanking his supporters for their aid,
referring to "this bold struggle to emancipate this coun-
try from the domination of a set of men, who had
assumed all appointments upon themselves," and having
much to say of equal rights and the rights of man. The
letter was sprinkled with epithets, probably aimed at
Isaac Tichenor, whose supporters apparently voted for
484 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Smith. The successful candidate was of the same politi-
cal faith as Lyon, and the entire Congressional delega-
tion was anti-Federalist.
Israel Smith was born in Sheffield, Conn., in 1759.
He was graduated from Yale College in 1781 and in
1783 came to Rupert, where he was admitted to the bar.
He was a member of the Legislature in 1785 and in
1788-90, and soon became prominent in State affairs.
He was a member of the commission that settled the
controversy with New York and a delegate to the con-
vention that ratified the United States Constitution.
He had removed to Rutland the same year in which he
was elected to Congress. Later he served the State as
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, United States Sena-
tor and Governor.
An act was passed by the Legislature in 1791, levying
a tax of a half-penny per acre on all lands in the State
in order to raise the sum of $30,000 to be paid to New
York by Vermont, in accordance with the agreement
relative to the relinquishment of New York's claims to
lands in this State. This sum was not easily raised.
The people were poor and there was a scarcity of money
in circulation. Vermont being unable to pay the whole
amount at the time agreed upon, the New York Legisla-
ture extended the time of payment. When the greater
part of the $30,000 had been paid, Robert Yates, John
Lansing, Jr., and Abraham Van Vechten were appointed
commissioners to decide all claims made by citizens of
New York to a share of this fund. Many claims were
filed, the aggregate amount far exceeding the amount
stipulated in the agreement. It was not until April 23,
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 485
1799, that the commissioners made their report, which
allowed seventy-six claims. The largest amounts were
paid as follows : Goldsbrow Banyar, $7,218.94; Samuel
Avery, $2,655.03; the heirs of James Duane, $2,621.29;
William Cockburne, $1,495.95; Simon Metcalf's estate,
$1,417.47; Brooke Watson, $1,197.76; William Smith,
$1,181.69; John Plenderleaf, $1,096.68.
The first census report, as subsequently corrected,
gave Vermont a population of 85,425. Rhode Island,
Delaware, Kentucky and Georgia ranked below Ver-
mont in total number of inhabitants at this time. The
population by counties was as follows : Addison, 6,420 ;
Bennington, 12,206; Chittenden, 7,287; Orange, 10,526;
Rutland, 15,590; Windham, 17,572; Windsor, 15,740.
More than one-third of the population of the State was
in the counties of Windham and Windsor, and together
with Bennington and Rutland counties, comprising the
southern portion of the State, they contained more than
three-fourths of the population of Vermont.
The most populous town was Guilford, with a popula-
tion of 2,422. Other towns containing a population of
more than 1,000 as shown by the first census, were as
follows: Bennington, 2,350; Shaftsbury, 1,990; Putney,
1,848; Pownal, 1,732; Hartland, 1,652; Westminster,
1,599; Woodstock, 1,597; Brattleboro, 1,589; Wind-
sor, 1,542; Dummerston, 1,490; Clarendon, 1,480; Rut-
land, 1,417; Manchester, 1,278; Halifax, 1,209; Danby,
1,206; Norwich, 1,158; Weathersfield, 1,146; Poult-
ney, 1,120; Springfield, 1,097; Rupert, 1,034.
The character of the population is shown by the fact
that approximately 81,200 persons were of English
486 HISTORY OF VERMONT
origin and 2,600 were of Scotch extraction, these two
racial elements comprising more than 98 per cent of the
total population of the State at the time of its admission
to the Union.
Soon after Vermont became a State, Thomas Jeffer-
son, Secretary of State, and James Madison, then a
member of Congress from Virginia, visited Bennington.
They had travelled about four hundred miles and
expected to travel four hundred and fifty miles further
before the end of their journey. They had visited the
scene of General Burgoyne's surrender, the sites of the
well known forts, William Henry, George, Ticonderoga
and Crown Point, and the battlefield of Bennington.
Jefferson's keenness of observation is shown in a letter
written to Thomas Mann Randolph, in which he de-
scribes the trees, shrubs and flowers in the vicinity of
Bennington. Among the trees, either rare or unknown
in Virginia, he mentions the sugar maple "in vast
abundance." The letter says: "From the highlands
to the lakes it is a limestone country. It is in vast quan-
tities on the eastern side of the lakes, but none on the
western sides." This "limestone country" is now the
most famous marble region in the world. Jefferson also
referred to a small red squirrel, generally about six
inches in length, with a black stripe on each side, "in
such abundance on Lake Champlain, particularly, as that
twenty odd were killed at the house we lodged in opposite
Crown Point the morning we arrived there without
going ten yards from the door." Several were killed
while the party was crossing the lake. It is evident
that the distinguished visitors lodged at Chimney Point,
ADMITTED TO THE UNION 487
opposite Crown Point, and presumably at the old inn,
still used (1921) for the entertainment of summer visi-
tors, a part of which was built some time before the
American Revolution.
Jefferson and Madison arrived at Bennington on
Saturday evening, June 4, on their way to Connecticut,
remaining over Sunday. That they made a good
impression is evident from the comment of the Vermont
Gazette, which says, in describing the visit: "They
expressed great satisfaction with the country through
which they had passed on their tour, and, from the
affability and polite attention they paid the citizens of
Bennington, and doubtless those of the different places
they visited, on their route, it is reasonably to be pre-
sumed they not only ingratiated themselves deeply with
the discerning, but obtained unreservedly the sentiments
of the people, and secured to themselves a fund of politi-
cal knowledge which cannot fail to render them more
essentially serviceable to their country.
"They attended public worship on the Sabbath and
left town before sunrise the next morning. Examples
like these bespeak the gentlemen of good breeding, and
the man of business, and are worthy of imitation by all
ranks and descriptions of men in our republic." Jeffer-
son, himself, states, however, in his letter to Thomas
Mann Randolph, that their stay in Bennington was pro-
longed because the laws of the State did not permit the
tourists to travel on Sunday.
Vermont had now complied with all the formalities
required by the laws and the Constitution and had be
come a State of the American Union with all the privi-
488 HISTORY OF VERMONT
leges and responsibilities of Statehood. The little re-
public had become merged in the greater Nation.
Chapter XXVIII
''OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION"
DURING the quarter of a century that elapsed
between the time when the royal Governor of
the Colony of New York formally laid claim to
the region known as the New Hampshire Grants, and
the admission to the Federal Union of the State of Ver-
mont, eldest daughter of the new Republic, one of the
most thrilling chapters of American history was written.
Here, in the shadow of the Green Mountains, a little
band of pioneers were victors in a contest against odds
such as no other commonwealth in our Nation has had
to overcome. For sheer audacity, for dogged persist-
ence, for courage born of desperation in defence of home-
steads won by toil and sacrifice from the primeval forest,
for fertility of resource, for devotion to liberty, there is
nothing in the story of our national existence more
worthy of admiration than the struggle for freedom
made by this little mountain State against the might of
a foreign foe, the hostility of powerful neighbors, and
the intrigues of enemies within her own household.
The people who settled the New Hampshire Grants
were typical New Englanders. They came largely from
Connecticut, where self government was more nearly
approached than in any other American colony. Their
purpose was to establish homes, to clear the land and
till the soil with their own hands, not to purchase landed
estates to be cultivated by tenants. These sturdy
pioneers in a sense were all picked men, resolute and
fearless, who had come into the wilderness prepared to
brave all its perils. Cowards, idlers, incompetents and
weaklings did not voluntarily forsake the comforts and
the safety of civilized communities for the hardships and
492 HISTORY OF VERMONT
dangers of the forest. Nowhere else in America were
there men less likely to be driven by fraud or force from
the homes they had established.
A brief recapitulation of the more important events
of the period may be helpful.
The people of the New Hampshire Grants refused to
purchase again under a New York title lands which
already they had bought, assuming the additional burden
of the payment of exorbitant fees, and they sent one of
their number, Samuel Robinson, to London to petition
the King for relief.
When a writ of ejectment was served upon James
Breakenridge of Bennington by New York officers in
1769, the surveyors found it prudent to retire, as they
observed that a company of farmers at work in the
owner's cornfield were equipped with guns as well as
harvesting tools.
When the trial of ejectment suits at Albany had
demonstrated that no justice could be obtained in New
York courts for settlers holding New York titles, a town
meeting, held at Bennington, determined that until the
King finally decided the controversy, the lands in dis-
pute should not be surrendered.
When Sheriff Ten Eyck and a posse from Albany
attempted to seize the Breakenridge farm, they found
that the town of Bennington had taken possession and
the house was defended by armed and resolute men.
The attacking party, not desiring a battle, withdrew and
left Breakenridge in possession.
When news was received that Governor Tryon and
a detachment of British troops were coming to conquer
"OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION" 493
the Green Mountain Boys, cannon and ammunition were
obtained and an ambuscade was formed. The alarm
proved false, but the report of the episode reached
Albany, where its significance was appreciated.
When New York officials attempted to enforce the
authority of that colony they were chastised with "the
twigs of the wilderness," and settlers who tried to
occupy New York grants were evicted with scant
courtesy.
Ethan Allen and other leaders were not intimidated
when New York declared them outlaws and set a price
upon their heads. A body of militia was organized and
committees of safety performed the most necessary
governmental functions.
When the American colonies revolted from British
rule the land controversy was temporarily suspended.
Ethan Allen and his Green Mountain Boys captured the
fortress of Ticonderoga, the first aggressive act of the
Revolution, and participated in the invasion of Canada.
The battle of Hubbardton was fought under the leader-
ship of Seth Warner; and at Bennington the first blow
was struck at the prestige of Burgoyne, the British
commander, which ended with his surrender at Saratoga.
During the progress of the war the people of this
region established a State government and put it into
successful operation. From time to time application
was made to Congress for admission to the Union, but
Vermont refused to submit, even temporarily, to New
York's jurisdiction, pending a settlement of the con-
troversy.
494 HISTORY OF VERMONT
When the State government had been in operation
only a little more than six months, a refusal to continue
a union with certain New Hampshire towns caused
nearly half the legislative body to withdraw, including
the Lieutenant Governor and two members of the
Council.
The attempts of residents of the Connecticut valley to
destroy the new State and set up another to include part
or all of New Hampshire and the eastern portion of
Vermont, were frustrated in a single night by the tact
and diplomacy of Ira Allen.
Claims to Vermont territory were made by New
Hampshire, Massachusetts and New York, and with
Canada on the north containing a hostile army, ready
to strike, the new State literally was surrounded by
enemies. With Congress indifferent, and all Conti-
nental troops and supplies withdrawn from her borders,
the situation of Vermont was desperate. In this
emergency negotiations with the British authorities in
Canada were begun, with no intention of disloyalty to
America, but merely to delay or prevent an expected
British invasion, and to arouse Congress to the danger
of a Vermont alliance with Great Britain. This dan-
gerous expedient fully justified the wisdom of the Ver-
mont leaders. A British army was kept inactive and
Congress awakened to a keener sense of the importance
of recognizing the claims of Vermont.
Gradually public opinion in favor of Vermont in-
creased, as the situation was more clearly understood.
Ethan Allen and Stephen R. Bradley set forth in vigor-
"OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION" 495
ous terms the justice of the Vermont cause and copies
of these pamphlets were widely distributed. Ira Allen,
skilled in diplomacy, visited neighboring States, and
pleaded the cause of the Green Mountain Common-
wealth. Grants of land were made judiciously by Ver-
mont. Leading New York citizens like Hamilton,
Morris and Jay saw the futility of continued opposition,
but Governor Clinton refused to yield.
With the establishment of the national government,
New York's desire to secure the national capital, and the
need of a Northern State to balance the proposed admis-
sion of Kentucky, came Vermont's opportunity. New
York yielded when the promise was made to pay the
sum of $30,000 to satisfy claimants under her land
grants, and to Vermont came the honor of being the
first State admitted to the Federal Union.
It was a long and weary way that had been travelled,
a perilous journey. The attempt to resist the powerful
colony of New York must have seemed hopeless at the
outset to disinterested observers, if such there were in
that day. But there were no such words as failure or
defeat in the vocabulary of those early Vermont leaders.
They knew how to fight, if necessary, how to play one
opponent against another, how to plan and how to wait.
They were men of courage and faith. They believed
so thoroughly in their cause that they compelled a
victory.
It is a marvelous and a romantic story, the record
of this little band of untrained farmers, who first estab-
lished a republic which later was recognized as a State.
Like the saints and martyrs of the early church, truly
496 HISTORY OF VERMONT
they had **come up out of great tribulation," and their
achievements constitute a heritage of which their chil-
dren's children to the remotest generation may well be
proud.
Chapter XXIX
VERMONT'S RAPID GROWTH
THE first two decades of Vermont's history as a
State of the Federal Union, has been called the
Golden Age of the commonwealth. So far as
this designation may apply to numerical growth it is
fittingly bestowed; but the formative period of the com-
monwealth was far more notable for noble and courage-
ous deeds, and during the Civil War a greater spirit of
sacrifice and patriotic devotion was shown. In the
larger and better sense of the term this was not Ver-
mont's Golden Age.
During the last decade of the Eighteenth and the first
decade of the Nineteenth century, immigrants in large
numbers flocked into the Green Mountain State. The
population increased from 85,425 in 1791 to 154,465 in
1800, and 217,895 in 1810. This represented a gain of
81 per cent during the first nine years of statehood and
41.1 per cent during the second decade. No Northern
or Eastern State equalled Vermont in the percentage of
growth during the first census period, and the only
States of the Union showing a higher percentage of
gain were Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee, in the
South. During the period between 1800 and 1810,
Maine's percentage of growth was a little larger than
that of Vermont. The States of southern New Eng-
land were not growing rapidly at this time. The first
period mentioned, 1790 to 1800, showed a gain in popu-
lation in Massachusetts of 12 per cent; in Rhode Island,
of 0.4 per cent; in Connecticut, of 5 per cent. The
percentage of gain in population during the second
period, 1800 to 1810, was as follows: Massachusetts,
1 1 ; Rhode Island, 11 ; Connecticut, 4. Manv of the in-
500 HISTORY OF VERMONT
habitants of southern New England, moved by ambition
and a love of adventure, sought homes in the new State
of Vermont, an emigration which had been going on
since the close of the French and Indian War, although
it had been interrupted during the hostilities of the
Revolutionary period.
When Vermont was admitted to the Union, in 1791,
72 per cent of the population of the State dwelt in the
four southern counties of Bennington, Windham,
Windsor and Rutland. During the next nine years the
tide of emigration flowed into the central and northern
portions of the State, and into the mountain towns of
the southern counties ; and the movement continued into
the same portions of the State from 1800 to 1810,
although the percentage of growth was somewhat
smaller. In 1800 the four southern counties contained
57 per cent of the population, but adding Addison and
Orange counties to the group, it contained 77 per cent.
In 1810 the four southern counties contained 49 per cent
of the population, and the six counties mentioned in-
cluded 68 per cent of the inhabitants of Vermont.
During the first decade of Vermont's existence as a
State, four counties, Caledonia, Essex, Franklin and
Orleans, were incorporated, all in 1792. The name
Caledonia was given in honor of the Scotch settlers who
had made homes in the southern part of the county.
Danville was the first shire town. Between 1791 and
1800 the towns that composed the county gained 5,519
in population. Essex county made a threefold gain in
population during the same period. The settlement of
Franklin county was begun almost immediately after the
VERMONT'S RAPID GROWTH 501
close of the Revolutionary War. In 1791 the towns that
the next year were organized as a county contained a
population of 1,472. In 1800 Franklin county con-
tained 6,534 inhabitants.
Craftsbury, organized in 1792, and Greensboro in
1793, were the first Orleans county towns in which set-
tlements were made. The growth was slow at first, but
before the year 1800, settlements had been begun in all
of the towns of the county except Charleston, Coven-
try, Holland, Jay, Lowell, Morgan and Westmore, and
in that year settlers entered several of these towns
hitherto uninhabited. In 1800, however, practically half
the residents of Orleans county were located in the towns
of Craftsbury and Greensboro.
Vermont's population by counties, according to the
census of 1800, is given herewith. The counties of
Grand Isle, Lamoille and Washington had not been
organized at that time, but they are given in the accom-
panying table for convenience, the towns afterward
included in those counties being grouped in this manner
rather than with the counties of which they were then a
part:
Addison 13,417
Bennington 14,617
Caledonia 7,566
Chittenden 9,551
. Essex 1,479
Franklin 6,534
Grand Isle 2,498
Lamoille 1,751
Orange 16,318
502 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Orleans 1,054
Rutland 23,813
Washington 5,342
Windham 23,581
Windsor 26,944
In 1800 the most populous towns in Vermont included
the following: Guilford, 2,256; Bennington, 2,243;
Windsor, 2,211; Woodstock, 2,132; Rutland, 2,125;
Springfield, 2,032; Hartland, 1,960; Weathersfield,
1,944; Westminster, 1,942; Pawlet, 1,938; Shafts-
bury, 1,895; Chester, 1,878; Brattleboro, 1,867; Ran-
dolph, 1,841; Clarendon, 1,789; Poultney, 1,694; Dum-
merston, 1,692; Pownal, 1,692; Rockingham, 1,684;
Rupert, 1,648; Strafford, 1,642; Halifax, 1,600; Arling-
ton, 1,597; Putney, 1,577; Royalton, 1,541; Danville,
1,514.
During the first census period eight Vermont towns
lost population, the losses being considerable in three of
the largest towns of the State, Bennington, Guilford
and Putney.
Vermont's gain in population from 1800 to 1810 was
63,430. During the decade. Grand Isle county was
organized (1802), the State then being divided into
twelve counties. Washington county was organized
(as Jeft'erson) a few months after the enumeration of
1810 was made, but Lamoille county was not formed
until twenty-five years thereafter. These counties
again are included in the table given herewith as a matter
of convenience. The population by counties and the
gains made during the decade were as follows :
VERMONT'S RAPID GROWTH 503
Population Gain
Addison 19,433 6,576
Bennington 15,892 1,276
Caledonia 14,966 7,400
Chittenden 14,646 5,095
Essex 3,087 1,608
Franklin* 14,411 7,877
Grand Isle 3,445 1,608
Lamoille 4,021 2,270
Orange 21,724 5,406
Orleans 4,512 3,458
Rutland 29,487 5,674
Washington 9,382 4,040
Windham 26,760^ 3,179
Windsor 34,877 7,938
The most populous towns of the State in 1810 were the
following: Windsor, 2,757; Woodstock, 2,672; Spring-
field, 2,556; Bennington, 2,524; Rutland, 2,379; Chester,
2,370; Hartland, 2,352; Randolph, 2,255; Danville,
2,240; Pawlet, 2,233; Middlebury, 2,138; Weathers-
field, 2,115; Shoreham, 2,033. Thirteen towns lost
population during this census period, the heaviest losses
occurring in Grand Isle, South Hero, Guilford and
Arlington,
A few settlements in the north country of Vermont
had been made before the outbreak of the Revolutionary
War. A French outpost. Fort St. Anne, built on Isle
La Motte in 1666, although only a temporary occupa-
tion, was the first white settlement within the present
limits of Vermont. The owner of a French seigniory
established several families at Windmill Point in
504 HISTORY OF VERMONT
Alburg, as early as 1731. It is known that there was a
French settlement in S wanton in 1759, but it is probable
that it was established at a much earlier date. In 1765,
an Englishman, James Robertson, conducted a lumber
business at the falls of the Missisquoi. The town de-
rived its name from Capt. William Swanton, a British
officer, who returned from the Louisburg expedition by
way of Lake Champlain. St. Albans had one settler,
Jesse Welden, before the Revolutionary War began.
Two Essex county towns, Guildhall and Lunenburg,
were settled during the Colonial period, the former in
1764, and the latter in 1768. Maidstone was settled in
1772. In Caledonia county, Scotch immigrants settled
in Barnet and Ryegate before the War for Independence,
and families came into Peacham in 1777.
Jonathan Arnold, formerly a member of Congress
from Rhode Island, was one of the first settlers of
St. Johnsbury, and Lyndon was named in honor of his
son. The first settlers in Highgate were German sol-
diers who had served in the British army, and supposed,
it is said, that they were establishing homes in Canada.
The town of Hunger ford changed its name to Sheldon
in honor of one of its first settlers. Col. Elisha Sheldon, a
distinguished Revolutionary officer, who was a friend of
General Washington. Enosburg derived its name from
Col. Roger Enos, one of the grantees, who was the
father-in-law of Ira Allen. Elmore was granted to Col.
Samuel Elmore, a gallant Revolutionary officer, and his
associates ; and Eden was chartered to Col. Seth Warner
and officers and soldiers of his regiment; Hyde Park
was named in honor of one of its grantees and early
VERMONT'S RAPID GROWTH 505
settlers, Capt. Jedediah Hyde, a Revolutionary officer,
who participated in the battle of Bunker Hill. Wolcott
was named in honor of Gen. Oliver Wolcott, one of the
original proprietors, an eminent Connecticut statesman,
who was a signer of the Declaration of Independence,
and a friend of Vermont.
The last Vermont county to be settled was Orleans.
Barton, in which the first settlement was made, was
named in honor of one of the proprietors, Col. William
Barton of Providence, who led the expedition which
captured Sir William Prescott, the British commander
in Rhode Island. Col. Ebenezer Crafts, a graduate of
Yale College and an officer in the American Revolution,
becoming financially embarrassed, sold his property at
Sturbridge, Mass., and removed to northern Vermont,
where he helped to establish a new township, which was
called Craftsbury, in his honor. Here he gathered about
him several families from his former home. The town-
ship of Glover was granted to Gen. John Glover of
Marblehead, Mass., who conducted Burgoyne's army to
Massachusetts after the British surrender at Saratoga.
Irasburg was granted to Ira Allen and his associates.
Much of the land in the town of Jay was granted to
John Jay, the famous New York statesman, in recogni-
tion of his services in settling the long standing dispute
between Vermont and New York. Waitsfield was
named in honor of Gen. Benjamin Wait, one of the
grantees, who served in the French and Indian War and
the American Revolution.
The settlement of the townships in the central and
northern portions of the State involved practically the
506 HISTORY OF VERMONT
same hardships and privations that attended the task of
the pioneers in the older counties of Vermont, but the
work of transforming the forest-clad valleys and hill-
sides into fertile fields went on steadily and speedily.
The opportunities that the new lands in Vermont
afforded the home seekers from the older States are set
forth by an early historian, Rev. Samuel Williams. In
writing concerning conditions that prevailed about the
year 1800, he asserted that one hundred acres of land
in a new town generally could be purchased for a sum
of money which a young man with reasonable economy
could save from his wages during one or two years of
labor. The first crop of wheat might be expected to
pay all the cost of clearing, fencing and sowing the land
cultivated. At the same time, this cultivation increased
the value of the property, making it eight or ten times
greater than the original purchase price. An acre of
land that cost, perhaps, a half day's labor, in one year
could be put into condition to produce annually, there-
after, from fifteen to twenty-five bushels of wheat. In
this manner, the pioneer farmer received double wages
for his labor, in the value of his crop and the apprecia-
tion of his property. According to "Williams' His-
tory," the agricultural laborer could command seventy
dollars a year for his work, this sum being equivalent
to one hundred and twenty bushels of wheat. In the
busy season of the year, the common wage for a day's
labor was a half dollar, but in the winter, it was not
more than half that sum. Other laborers were paid
wages in the usual proportion to that of the farmhand.
The writer estimated that from a yearly compensation
VERMONT'S RAPID GROWTH 507
of seventy dollars, the laborer would need to take twenty
dollars for the purchase of comfortable clothing.
The men and women who settled this region were
accustomed to hard work and their hours of labor were
long, but in a few years, they transformed a wilderness
into a region of fertile farms. Early marriages and
large families were the rule, and children assumed their
share of the tasks in the household and on the farm.
In the fall of 1791, John Lincklaen, agent of the Hol-
land Land Company, travelled through Pennsylvania,
New York and Vermont, and in his journal, he set forth
an account of conditions prevailing at that time in this
State. Lands in Bennington sold at prices varying from
fifteen to twenty-five dollars an acre. Twenty bushels
of wheat from an acre was considered a good yield.
Lands at Manchester sold at a rate as high as twenty
dollars an acre. From twenty to twenty-five bushels of
wheat to the acre was considered a good yield. At Bur-
lington, the inhabitants began to live at ease. In that
vicinity, wheat yielded from twenty to thirty, and some-
times as much as forty, bushels an acre; and Indian
corn as high as seventy bushels an acre. The greater
part of the trade of this region was with Canada and
grain and cattle were exchanged for European goods.
In the Connecticut valley, he found "superb orchards."
This traveller from Holland was a keen observer, and
in alluding to the fact that here there were no great
landholders, after the manner of the great landed pro-
prietors of the South, he hit upon one of the charac-
teristic features of Vermont and New England. He
said: "The Legislature has always believed it was its
508 HISTORY OF VERMONT
policy to grant only a small number of acres to any one
person, for the greater preservation of equality and pre-
venting too great individual influence. This seems to
me one reason that they (the lands) are sold from ten
to twenty dollars an acre, and it would not even be pos-
sible to buy a large quantity at that rate."
A ''History of Vermont," written by Ira Allen, and
published in 1798, contained, as an appendix, a letter
addressed by the author to the Duke of Portland, in
which there is an argument in favor of a ship canal
from Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence River. In
the letter. Colonel Allen discussed the agricultural and
industrial resources of Vermont. Among the products
of the farms of the State, he mentioned winter wheat,
winter rye, spring rye, barley, oats, Indian corn, peas,
hemp, flax, red and w^hite clover, timothy, beef, pork,
butter and cheese. He added: "There is a garden
annexed to every house, always well stored with pulse
and roots for the supply of the table; parsnips, carrots,
turnips, cabbage, potatoes, pumpkins, etc., grow in such
abundance that we begin to fatten swine with them.
* * * As soon as the acorns, beechnuts, etc., begin
to fall, they (the swine) are driven to the woods in large
herds to feed on them.
"Maple sugar forms a great article of domestic con-
sumption."
Referring to domestic animals, he said: "The breed
(of sheep) is good, but the crossing is not studied, as in
England. They are remarkably prolific, the mutton
sweet, and the w^ool generally fine and good; every
farmer has a flock more or less. The breed of black
VERMONT'S RAPID GROWTH 509
cattle is daily improving, butter is good, and so is the
cheese, but a few English farmers, from what I have
seen, would, in a short time, bring about a surprising
change for the better in these articles. "^^ * ''' Our
vegetation is at least as luxuriant and nutritious as any
county in England. As to the breed of horses, it is
also improving in this State, from the laudable exertion
of individuals."
Rev. Samuel Williams, writing about this time, said
of agricultural conditions: ''In no part of the United
States does the farmer meet with more success in rais-
ing sheep. The climate agrees well with the breed of
sheep that is spread over the territory, and the richness
of the pastures in new settlements, gives an extra-
ordinary sweetness to the meat and richness to the
fleece. It is not uncommon for a sheep of two or three
years old to weigh one hundred and twenty pounds, and
to afl^ord three or four pounds of wool. And from the
wool of their own raising the greater part of the farm-
ers manufacture the woolens which are used in their
families. In no place does flax succeed better than on
the new lands. The common produce from one acre is
from four to five hundred pounds. Every family raises
a quantity of flax and carries on a small manufacture of
linen. * * *
"The manufacture of maple sugar is also an article
of great importance to the State. Perhaps two-thirds
of the families are engaged in this business in the spring,
and they make more sugar than is used among the
people. Considerable quantities are carried to the shop-
keepers, which always find a ready sale and good pay.
510 HISTORY OF VERMONT
The business is now carried on under the greatest dis-
advantages. Without proper conveniences, instruments,
or works, solely by the exertions of private families, in
the woods and without any other conveniences than one
or two iron kettles, the largest of which will not hold
more than four or five pailfuls. Under all these disad-
vantages, it is common for a family to make two or
three hundred pounds of maple sugar in three or four
weeks. The country abounds in a great number of the
sugar maple trees. The largest of these trees are five
and a half or six feet in diameter and will yield five gal-
lons of sap in one day, and from twelve to fifteen pounds
of sugar during the season. * * * We cannot de-
termine with much accuracy what quantity of this sugar
is annually made in the State. In the town of Caven-
dish, in the spring of the year 1794, the quantity made
by eighty-three families was fourteen thousand and
eighty pounds. If the families in the other towns manu-
facture in the same proportion, there must be above one
thousand tons annually made in Vermont."
The markets for Vermont produce were Montreal,
Troy, Albany and New York, Portland, Boston, Hart-
ford and New Haven. John Lincklaen, while visiting
Burlington in 1791, learned that the greatest traffic of
northwestern Vermont was with Canada. The province
of Quebec sometimes was supplied with grain and often
with cattle, European products being received in return.
Timothy Dwight, travelling through Vermont in 1806,
was informed that fat cattle were driven from this State
to Boston and New York, and sometimes to Philadel-
phia. Horses were sold at New Haven and Hartford
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VERMONT'S RAPID GROWTH 511
for the West Indies' market. The counties of Essex,
Caledonia and Orange traded much with Portland, while
the southern part of the Champlain valley found its
markets in Troy, Albany and New York. Much of
Vermont's produce at this early period, was transported
in the winter by sleighs, when the roads were better
than during any other season of the year.
Prof. James Dean of the University of Vermont, in
an "Atlas of Vermont," published in 1808, said that from
twelve thousand to fifteen thousand head of beef cattle
were driven every year from this State to the Boston
market. "Seybert's Statistical Annals" show that the
principal exports from Vermont for the five years.
1800-'04 inclusive, were pot and pearl ashes, pork, beef,
wheat flour, grain, butter, cheese, lumber and horses.
Valuations and enumerations authorized by the act of
July, 1798, showed in Vermont 4,918,722 acres of land,
valued at $15,165,484, and 5,437 dwellings appraised at
$1,558,389.36. The valuation of lands, lots and dwel-
ling houses in 1798 amounted to $16,723,873.38, and in
1813 to $34,747,290.
John A. Graham, a Vermont lawyer, was sent to Eng-
land by the Episcopal Church of the State as its agent,
and while in London, published, in 1797, a series of
letters, entitled "Descriptive Sketches of Vermont,"
which gives much information concerning conditions in
the State during the period following immediately after
its admission to the Union. He reported that orchards
had been generally planted in Bennington county. The
finest apples, pears, peaches, plums, cherries and quinces
produced in the State were raised in Shaftsbury. The
512 HISTORY OF VERMONT
inhabitants of this town were called rich farmers, most
of whom had emigrated from Rhode Island/
There was a good road from Bennington to Albany.
Many fine residences had been built in Bennington.
Gov. Moses Robinson had "a superb brick house." Mr.
Tichenor's house, built of wood, in some respects was
the best in the county. The writer said: "His chimney
pieces and hearths are of a beautiful clouded marble,
as highly polished as any seen in London." As the
owner of the mansion was active in preparing these
mantels and hearths, it is evident that the use of Ver-
mont marble for decorative purposes began at an early
date.
Two "great roads" led north from Manchester, one
through the eastern part of Dorset to Rutland, and the
other through Pawlet and Fair Haven to Lake Cham-
plain. The inhabitants of Dorset were seriously an-
noyed by the depredations of wolves, which often de-
stroyed whole flocks of sheep in a night. Great quanti-
ties of honey were produced in this town, also many
ducks, geese, turkeys and fowls.
Federal Square had been located in the center of Rut-
land, and contained five English acres. On the east
side stood the new court house, in which sessions of the
General Assembly were held alternately with sessions
at Windsor. "Handsome and elegant" residences
surrounded the square and water was brought to the
village from the mountain in wooden pipes. Clarendon
was said to contain less waste land than any other town
in the State. Some of the Clarendon farms cut from
two hundred to five hundred tons of hay in a single year.
VERMONT'S RAPID GROWTH 513
At Fair Haven were pine trees six feet in diameter.
The good roads and fertile farms in Brattleboro and
Westminster were considered worthy of special mention.
The village of Newbury contained the most elegant
church in the State and boasted of the only bell in a
Vermont house of worship. Aqueducts supplied this
village with water from the hills. Attention was called
to the deep, rich soil of the Otter Creek valley in Rut-
land and Addison counties.
In 1791, Braintree voted to pay a bounty of sixpence
on each apple tree that should be transplanted into an
orchard, no bounty to be paid on less than twenty-five
or more than one hundred trees.
Windsor was considered a beautiful location, with fine
residences and ''rising manufactures." During the last
week of October, 1796, a bridge was completed between
Windsor and Cornish, N. H.
A toll bridge across the Connecticut River at Bellows
Falls was built by Col. Enoch Hale in 1784-85, being the
first bridge on the Connecticut, from its source to its
mouth. A canal at Bellows Falls, around the water-
fall, was begun in 1792 and boats began passing in
October, 1802. This was built by English capital and
was one of six canals around waterfalls on the Con-
necticut River, the others being constructed at Enfield
(now Windsor Locks), Conn., South Hadley Falls,
Mass., Turners Falls, Mass., Hartland, Vt., and Wilder,
Vt. A small paper mill was built at Bellows Falls in
1802.
As Ve 
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